Afterword on Freedom
by celestehalcyon
Summary: Sequel to Of Strange Travelers. Syaoran and his group return to Arthur's world, but Arthur's acting strangely... Then an event explodes that will make Syaoran choose once more: to save a friend or to regain an old self? SPOILER WARNING!
1. Premonition

**Afterword on Freedom**

_Special note: This fanfiction of _Tsubasa _crosses over with a fanfiction of _Axis Powers Hetalia_ having a similar title_. _Although it isn't necessary to read the other fanfiction to understand the events in this _Tsubasa_ fanfiction, you'll get to see the same events from different perspectives if you read both fanfictions!_

_Disclaimer: Tsubasa belongs to CLAMP while Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidekaz. _

_

* * *

_

_He blinked once, stared hard in front of him, but nothing changed. Wherever he looked, no matter how long he waited, his eyes didn't adjust to the lack of light wherever he was. He placed his hand in front of his face, but was still unable to see it. He placed it back down with a sigh. It was as if there was no light to begin with. Only darkness. Syaoran frowned._

_He was already aware that no solid ground was underneath his feet. He didn't let it bother him, though – he was too familiar with the dangling sensation for him to even be surprised. He knew from experience what was going on. _

_This was all a dream._

_Syaoran turned around and tried to peer out into the darkness more so to keep himself active while waiting for… anything to happen. He knew these kinds of dreams weren't the normal ones others would have. These were special, one way or another. This dream was no exception. It all depended on what would come out of the darkness._

_He waited patiently, floating in place, until something moved out of the corner of his eye. He looked over and blinked._

_The man that appeared out of the darkness had spiky blonde hair, wearing a plain moss green uniform, military from what he could tell. His eyes were closed and his body remained a bit too still, but Syaoran recognized him right away. He saw him once through the eyes of the clone Syaoran and knew of no one else who had those very thick eyebrows. _

_Arthur Kirkland-san._

_He opened his mouth to greet him when a book suddenly floated in between them. He paused, eyes now fixed on the strange book. The book held no special design on its cover, not even a trace of a title. But there was no mistaking the powerful magic ebbing from its pages. It felt almost ominous._

_Before he knew what was happening, Arthur's hands were around the book even as the man's eyes remained closed. A bright light shone when they made contact, and Syaoran had to cover his eyes with an arm. The sudden burst of light after long moments of darkness caused his sight to blur. However, he knew his eyes weren't fooling him when Arthur's image split into three, no five… _

_All the Arthur's that separated from the original had different sets of clothing, as if they were depicting the different sides of the man. _

_The first one to detach only had a black cloak to differentiate him from the original, the hood covering half of his face. This one had the largest aura of magic around him, a faint light coming from his own person. The second one had a black two-flapped hat with a fluffy feather atop it, a draping red coat over his shoulders. He seemed to have a pistol holstered to his belt as well. He very much looked like an authentic pirate. The split image that followed donned on a redcoat military ensemble with what appeared to be a musket on his side._

_The last image that broke away from the original Arthur wore clothes matching the style – puffy sleeves and all – of 17__th__ century Europe in an Earth he had once lived in. But what caught Syaoran's attention to this particular image was the tears – they flowed right through closed lids, as if mourning over a memory. _

_He blinked and another flash of light illuminated out of the book again. This time, it was so bright that even hiding behind an arm wasn't enough to shade his eyes from the blinding light. Right before his sight was completely covered with white, another figure, an all-too familiar set of brown hair and determined eyes, reached out to him._

_The only word that he ever heard in the dream came from the mirrored image's lips: "Syaoran…"_

~oOoOoOo~

Syaoran gasped, sitting up quickly, and woke with a start. He looked around, and found himself lying on the floor and surrounded by three anxious faces. Mokona looked particularly worried, placing a gentle paw on his cheek. "Is Syaoran-kun all right?"

The boy only blinked at the white creature. He turned his head a bit and looked at the frown on Fai's face. "W-What happened?"

"You collapsed right after turning around a corner," the magician replied softly. "You've been unconscious for almost three hours."

He brought a hand up and touched a side of his head, almost expecting a bump in his scalp. "I was…?"

Fai nodded. "You just suddenly passed out on us. Kuro-papa was the most worried out of the three of us," he added with a smirk towards the aforementioned ninja, who looked surprised.

"Who are you calling 'papa'?" he dared, glaring at the chuckling blonde. Still, Syaoran could tell that the ninja's shoulders relaxed a bit.

He smiled faintly. "I'm sorry to have worried you," he muttered to them, comforting Mokona with a gentle pat.

"Do you think you're able to stand up?" Fai asked, standing up himself, ready should the boy need a helping hand.

Slowly, Syaoran held onto a knee and tried standing up on his own. A sudden draining of blood from his head caused him to lose balance and was about to fall over when Kurogane caught him nimbly by the arm. "Don't push yourself just yet," he told the boy firmly.

"I'm sorry…" Strange, he never felt so out of sorts in a long time.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Mokona urged, still perched on his shoulder. "You were thrashing about and about…"

"Were you having another dream?" Fai asked.

Syaoran thought for a moment. "Yes, but…" He looked down on the floor as he muttered, "…I don't remember exactly what happened…" Normally, he could easily remember the dreams he had, knowing its importance at some point. This time, however, it was all grey.

The faint blue light from Mokona's earring brought the group's attention right away. Mokona held up the ear donning the earring, looking at it for a moment before muttering, "It's time to go."

* * *

**A/N:** After putting this off for so long, here is the first chapter of the _Strange Travelers_ sequel! Since this is a sequel, there would be mentions of events that happened back in _Strange Travelers_ (like the fact that the TRC gang already met England). Also, just to play safe, I'll repeat the warning that there will be spoilers to the end of Tsubasa if the reader doesn't know it yet. Be warned!

And just to make things a bit interesting, I'll include a song in every chapter that has an appropriate-sounding theme to it. Note that it means that there may be chapters in the future with no accompanying song, heads up.

To end my ranting, here's this chapter's theme: "Theme of Sadness ~ The Flower Desired by the Devil" (as heard in Romaheta)


	2. Return

**Afterword on Freedom**

_Note: Just to place the time setting. Since the prequel to this story was written back in May, the sequel follows almost two months after, according to our dear Arthur-san's time. Makes sense? :)_

* * *

As the feeling of the hard ground regained from under his feet, Syaoran opened his eyes and immediately took in his surroundings, the new world. It was nighttime, though there was enough moonlight for him to see. They were standing in the middle of a porch of someone's house. The clear scent of roses came from behind them, a garden full of those flowers were most probably just below. The more he looked around, though, the more he thought the place looked familiar.

Then, wide green eyes stared right back at blinking brown ones.

The man before them wore semi-proper yet comfortable-looking clothes, a pair of slippers on his feet. Was he the owner of the house they just landed in? He also donned on short spiky blonde hair and very thick eyebrows. He wondered why those eyebrows looked especially familiar.

Beside him, Fai stepped up with a smile and greeted, "It's been a long time, Arthur-san."

~oOoOoOo~

Syaoran watched on his side of the couch as Arthur returned to the den with a tray of an English-style tea set and a plate of… some black dish he couldn't recognize. He wondered if it was impolite to not take a bite. Their host wore a bright smile as he set the tray down on the coffee table. "I still can't believe you would all return so soon."

The air began to fill with the smell of Earl Grey tea (he recognized it from one of the dimensions they and Mokona visited) and Fai gave their host a cheery grin. "Moko-chan can't control which dimension we land in next, so it's surprising for us to come back here as well."

The boy nodded his thanks upon accepting the offered cup of tea. "How long has it been since… _our_ last visit?"

Arthur regarded him with a thoughtful gaze for a moment. "Almost two months. Though it looks like you've all been through a lot since then," he mused, taking his seat on a cushioned chair.

Syaoran watched their host take a sip of tea in silence before staring into his own cup. "Yes…"

By now, he remembered where he had seen their host before. He recognized Arthur-san from the time when the clone Syaoran went with Sakura-hime and the others in their quest for the feathers. That had been a long, _long _time ago now, but only as short as two months in Arthur's time.

Still, from what little Syaoran knew of their host, Arthur-san looked a little different as well. His smile remained in place, but didn't quite reach his eyes. Aforementioned eyes didn't seem as bright as they could have either. They looked a little haunted to him. Whether his assumptions were right or not, though, it wasn't his place to ask.

"Hold on," the host suddenly said, catching the others' attention, "What ever happened to Sakura?"

After an exchanged glance with Syaoran, Fai replied, "She decided to stay behind while the four of us continue on with this journey."

"Oh?" Arthur looked a little disappointed at the news but soon moved on with a question. "So how is she now?"

"Sakura's fine now," Mokona replied, hopping to the man's lap. "She's much better, you could say," it smiled.

Arthur returned the smile, shoulders relaxing. "That's good to hear." He turned to Syaoran and asked, "So all of you are just traveling now?"

He shook his head. "We do have a goal in mind." Unconsciously, he gripped onto the cup tighter.

"I see" was all the host muttered. Then, with an encouraging smile, "Well, if there's anything I can do to help, then don't be afraid to ask."

Syaoran looked up from his cup, glanced at Kurogane who remained quiet by the wall, then to Fai, and saw the magician give a nod. "We're… looking for something." He saw Arthur nod for him to continue. "A technique… to bring back something that was lost, I suppose…"

It sounded rather vague, but Syaoran didn't know how else to word it out, especially on such a sudden time. He'd prefer to leave out the details, more for Arthur's sake than their own. He didn't know how he'd react to the tragedies that explained it all. And if Arthur didn't understand, then perhaps that was for the best, after all—

"You want to bring back the Syaoran I met two months ago, you mean," Arthur affirmed, and received wide stares from the traveling group.

Their host glanced at all of them for a moment. "I can see that your clothes aren't the only things that changed." He glanced down at the quiet Mokona on his lap and, touching the blue earring on its ear, said, "You used to have a red earring on – I only recognized its hidden power after you left though. You've replaced it with this _blue_ earring… It's similar with the red one, but with a different purpose now, yes?" The question was met with a silent nod.

Arthur faced the quiet Kurogane, and the ninja held a raised brow. "Your left arm." Both brows furrowed together. "You've replaced it with a bionic one, I take it." At that, the ninja gave him a full scowl, though the other smiled at him as if in pardon.

He then looked at Fai, thoughtful green eyes to patient blue ones, and muttered, "…You've attained the blood of a vampire, correct?"

Fai remained quiet in his own chair for a moment before asking with a small smile, "You can tell by just a glance?"

"Well, I wasn't so sure when we were by the porch," Arthur replied after a small sip of tea. "But then I realized that you have their eyes."

The magician merely smiled at him, and Syaoran saw a faint glint in those blue eyes. "You're very knowledgeable, Arthur-san."

He nodded to him before the host glanced over to Syaoran with furrowed brows. "Syaoran… that is your name as well, right? You respond to it naturally enough, without the faintest traces of hesitation…"

The boy's eyes widened. "Well, that's…" He looked down on his cup again. "It _is_ true, but…"

Arthur gave him a soft smile. "You are Syaoran… but not the Syaoran I had met before."

The boy looked up quickly to reply, but their host raised a hand before he could say anything. "You don't have to explain to me what happened to the other Syaoran." He glanced at the others who looked equally tense, except for Fai who just waited patiently with his cup of tea. "You all don't have to tell me anything. As of now, you are my guests as I am your host and only hope that you'll be able to enjoy your stay here."

For a few minutes, the traveling group settled for staring at their host as he took a sip of his tea. Syaoran felt his throat tighten with tension. So Arthur-san knew… since they had arrived at his porch? He noticed right away of the changes in Kurogane-san and Fai-san, but…

He didn't think anyone could even tell the difference between him and the other Syaoran. The revelation felt… enlightening somehow.

The abrupt sound of someone knocking on the door brought him back from his thoughts. He found Arthur setting his empty teacup on the coffee table, gently nudging Mokona to hop off his lap before standing up from his seat. He smiled at them, saying, "Please excuse me." With that, he left the room.

Almost right after the door closed, Kurogane frowned. "He's not the same as he was before."

Fai took a sip of his tea. "I agree. He seems more… burdened somehow."

In the chair that their host previously occupied, Mokona looked worried. "His heart is very sad, but Mokona doesn't know the reason."

Syaoran frowned after Mokona. "I don't know why either…" Arthur-san was a very nice person, he even knew that he wasn't the Syaoran he had met before yet treated him kindly like he was no stranger. He wondered if there was anything he could do in return…

Faint shouts coming from another side of the house made Syaoran and the others look towards the door, listening without meaning to eavesdrop on the rather loud conversation.

"—_don't you dare touch me!_" There was a loud pound, as if a clenched fist had connected with some body part.

The voices soon toned down a bit after that, but moments later, the shouting continued with a familiar voice crying out, "But mon cher, I've gone out of my way to come and comfort you in bed—mmph!" A louder crack followed right after. It sounded like someone stomped on the ground. Hard.

In his chair, Fai's smile widened. "Ah, was that Francis-san?"

"Francis-san?" Syaoran echoed softly but continued to stare off into the still closed door. The yelling continued – it was obvious their own host was behind that voice – and he frowned. He wondered if Arthur-san was alright or…

The door suddenly opened and Syaoran's brows shot up in surprise. It wasn't Arthur-san who opened the door (the yelling still continued down the hall) but a stranger. The man wore dark, semi-formal clothes and a sailor hat on his head. He had an inverted cross-shaped pin clipped to the side of his hair, and… was that stray curl detached and _floating_ by his head?

The man's dark eyes looked over each of them critically, as if analyzing them. Syaoran wondered in apprehension what he saw about them.

Then, Mokona hopped to the top of the chair, much to Syaoran's surprise. It lifted a paw to the man and gave him a friendly smile as Mokona greeted him,

"Hey there! Are you a friend of Arthur-san, as well?"

* * *

**A/N:** It's finally uploaded! *happy dance* RL pulled me back in again, but managed to sneak this in on Friday's (the only time to relax).

This chapter was meant as a spoiler minefield for Tsubasa's end, and I think I let the reader step into most of the deadly ones. I did warn the readers. Twice, even. Lucky for the Hetalia fans, I can't do the same for Hetalia - history spoils itself, really.

So to end my ranting, the theme for this chapter is: America's Cleaning of Storage: Memories (as heard in Soundworld)


	3. Uninvited

**Afterword on Freedom**

* * *

Syaoran and Kurogane settled for leaning on the wall as they watched quietly at the three blondes, namely Fai, Francis and Matthew, cooing over their conversation, seated together on the couch. Mokona decided to sit on Matthew's lap this time, though the boy didn't seem to mind. Rather, Mokona seemed to have forgotten whose lap it was sitting on.

"This is a most wonderful surprise, mes ami~!" Francis cried, his smile curling.

Fai shared his smile. "Indeed. We didn't expect to see you all so suddenly!"

Mokona beamed as if it was the happiest bunny in the world. "Mokona is very happy to see everyone again!"

Matthew smiled along with them, though he seemed almost out of place as the other two just kept on talking like he wasn't there. Syaoran thought he was used to being left out though, as depressing as that sounded.

Near the entrance to the den, Arthur was talking the other blonde that none of the travelers met on their last visit. Norge-san seemed like a nice person, though he keeps his face devoid of emotion. (Mokona once called him "Noru-kun" and only the man's brow twitched before telling the creature not to call him that.) On the other hand, Arthur-san looked happy to see him.

"Hey," Kurogane muttered.

"What is it?" he asked, noticing the ninja's slight scowl.

"You can sense it, too, right?" Kurogane motioned to the blonde with the sailor hat. "The strong power."

Syaoran looked over at Norge giving Arthur a nod. He frowned, "Yes." The man has a unique amount of magical power, just like Arthur-san. He noticed this when the man first entered the room. But he knew that wasn't what Kurogane meant.

_Something else_ held a strong magic – something ominous. And Norge had it. He didn't particularly show it, but Fai knew this as well. Syaoran wondered if Norge knew it himself.

A sense of tension suddenly surged through him when Syaoran saw Arthur lead Norge out of the den and into the hallway. The boy felt a strange twist in his gut. He didn't know what, but he knew that _something_ was going to happen.

"Uwaah, so your birthday is on July 1st?" came Mokona's little voice.

Syaoran looked back at the others still conversing on the couch and found Matthew looking rather flushed on the cheeks. "Y-Yes…" the purple-eyed teenager acknowledged weakly. "…A-Actually, we just celebrated it yesterday…"

Francis looked rather proud while Fai gave the bespectacled boy a flashing smile. "Well then, happy birthday, though it is a day late."

Matthew's cheeks only grew redder and Mokona began to poke at them. "Matthew's face is red! It's so red!"

Then, Francis pulled out a rose from nowhere and announced joyously, "My _bon anniversaire_ is on July 14th: _Jour de la Bastille_~"

Syaoran smiled at the man, not thinking of how the man seemed to 'glow'. "A-advanced happy birthday to you then, Francis-san…"

"_Merci beaucoup~!_" he said in reply, though the boy could only guess he was thanking him.

Mokona paused in its poking and said, "So Francis' birthday is coming up next!"

At that, Matthew's glasses glared at in the light of the room while Francis sighed quietly (and the rose seemed to have disappeared as well). The older of the two looked at Syaoran and said, "Non, cher Alfred will be having his birthday on the 4th. You remember Alfred, oui?"

"Ah, yes," Syaoran nodded. If he recalled right, he was the kind teenager who saved the other Syaoran when he fell off a restaurant building. He was bright and cheerful, though he seemed to have some sort of hero complex as well. "So how is Alfred-san?"

"He's doing well," Francis replied with a rather strained smile. "At the moment, he's busy preparing for his own birthday. Everyone's invited!"

Then, Matthew slumped on his side of the couch. "Even England…"

"Who?" Fai queried and the bespectacled blonde immediately flustered.

"U-Um, I-I mean Arthur!" he quickly said, raising his hands as if in surrender. "Arthur's invited as well!"

Kurogane raised a brow while Syaoran furrowed his. "Is Arthur-san… alright with that?" The two didn't answer, only looking away from meeting his eyes. Francis-san and especially Matthew-san's reactions were strange. They're trying to hide something. Something was definitely wrong.

"In any case," Fai muttered as he reached to the table for his cup of tea, "lingering in the past won't do as much good as looking towards the future." He raised his cup in cheers and continued with a wink, "So let's cherish the moments whenever we can, hm?"

"F-Fai…" Matthew whispered and the faintest traces of tears showed behind the lens of his glasses.

Francis raised his own cup and said with a real smile, "I'll drink to that."

Syaoran smiled. He didn't know about Francis-san, Matthew-san or even Arthur-san, but after what he and the others went through, it does feel lighter to just contemplate on the happier times. Fai-san was right, it was—

A strong burst of energy suddenly tore through the door of the den and swept everything in the den into chaos. Most of the feather-light valuables were tossed aside like paper and Syaoran could hear sounds of breakables shattering in all directions. Even the chairs were turned over, some smashing into the wall from the sheer force of the blast.

At the last moment, Fai stood and weaved protective barriers on each of them just as the door splintered into pieces. Syaoran watched as Francis half-covered, half-held Matthew around him even while Fai remained in front to take the brunt of the impact. But it wasn't the impact of the physical kind. It made his own chest tighten painfully, a sharp surge of pain going straight to his mind.

It was magic; nothing else could explain it.

Syaoran took a moment longer before he relaxed his stance slightly and examined his surroundings that were now in ruins. Beside him, Kurogane was gritting his teeth, sputtering curses under his breath. Fai was breathing heavily, a few scratches already on his face, while Matthew and Francis stared at something in front of them, and…

"Norway!" Francis cried out.

Syaoran turned to look at just what made Francis sound so panicked. He stared. A creature looking a bit too big and bulky to be human and having green hair and skin was staying closely to Norge, holding onto him as if to protect him. His eyes widened at the sight of sharp splinters piercing the creature's back, a strange ooze coming from the clear-cut wounds. Did it… did _they_ just burst through the door…?

Before any more questions popped into mind, Fai lowered his shaking hand and the barriers around them disappeared. Syaoran was about to go over to Fai and lend him a hand when a cold chill suddenly grazed through his spine.

What was…_ that?_

He noticed that Kurogane felt the same thing, by the way his eyes widened, and Fai too, his body tensing fiercely. Syaoran turned to the ruined doorway and stared. As dust clouds dispersed across his feet, the familiar image of Arthur stood by the entrance to the den, his head lowered. Syaoran, however, took in a deep breath. Something was very, _very_ wrong.

Arthur was wearing a black cloak around him, the hood shadowing half his face. The bottoms of the cloth bellowed softly at an unfelt wind, but Syaoran felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand straight up.

Quietly, Matthew's voice broke through the suffocating silence. "E-England…?"

At that, Arthur finally lifted his head and a sickeningly green eye glinted at them, the malice all too evident. "I am not England…"

Syaoran felt a cold sweat run down his cheek, though he may as well have shivered at the _coldness_ in the tone. Still lying on the floor, Norge sputtered, "Then, who…?"

A wide smirk reached to Arthur's ears but the curl in them twisted it to a wicked grin, baring gritting teeth.

"Great Britain."


	4. Confrontation

**Afterword on Freedom**

_Warning: Violence and gore from here onwards. Beware! Rating goes up!_**  
**

* * *

"B-B… B-Britain…?" Matthew called out weakly.

The smile 'Arthur' gave the boy was both familiar and foreign, all twisted in a wicked curl. "Don't look so scared now, lad," he said in a mock soothing tone. Then, he turned to glare at Francis. "_You_, on the other hand…"

Said man let out a whimper, but Syaoran remained fixed on their host, his mind filling with questions. What was going on? Why was Arthur-san suddenly calling himself _Great Britain_? This wasn't right… "A-Arthur-san…!"

But 'Arthur' scoffed at him, a look of disgust deeply etched on his face. "Don't belittle me with that… _human _name. My name is Great Britain – a more fitting name, wouldn't you say?" He gave them a crooked smile.

Syaoran furrowed his brows deeper. Stepping forward, he urged, "Arthur-san! What are you—?"

"Syaoran-kun, wait!" Fai stopped him, placing an arm in his way.

"But, Fai-san—!"

"So you're a non-believer, are you?" 'Arthur' drawled, cutting Syaoran's words. Then, he flashed them a smile that presented evil. "You've proposed an interesting challenge, human. Fine. I accept your challenge."

E-Eh?

"Arthur-san—"

"I am Great Britain," he cut him off again, "land of Hope and Glory"—a quick flash of teeth—"and a caster of magic you petty humans deign to recognize!"

There was a sudden flash of light coming from all directions and Syaoran had to cover his eyes with an arm. When the light had finally gone, he lowered his arm and stared. The whole den was back to the way it was before the explosion. The couch and chairs were back in their place. The portraits were hanging on the walls as before. Even the door was as good as new. It was as if the explosion never happened.

He heard Matthew mutter almost in a whisper, "Oh… wow…"

Beside him, Francis snorted, though his face looked rather pale. "I-It certainly is a nice trick – w-well, for _cleaning_ anyway…"

The sudden glare 'Arthur' gave him was like the certain promise of doom, slow and agonizing. "And you'll be the first blood, _you dead frog!_"

Before anyone could react, he charged at Francis, his hand outstretched, glowing an eerie blue with white-hot sparks coming off.

"Don't, England-san!"

There was barely any time left, 'Arthur' closing in on Francis at an unnatural speed with a dangerous – _deadly_ – spell in hand. He had no other choice. Weaving a quick spell around his arm, Fai rushed in the other's direction and stopped his assault, putting himself in a magic-lock with 'Arthur'.

"Why are you doing this?" Fai gritted his teeth, struggling to meet with Arthur's extraordinarily power. "England-san!"

But his words fell to deaf ears as 'Arthur' merely gave him a wicked smile. "Well, isn't this interesting! So you're a vampire _and _a magician! Ahahaha! Very interesting! But I wonder," he continued in a low, threatening tone, "how will your _companions_ fare?"

With that, 'Arthur' thrust his other arm out in Syaoran and Kurogane's direction, and Fai's eyes widened. _No…_

In a wild flurry of magic, a beam of light surged from the hand, heading straight for his companions—

Mokona suddenly popped up from Matthew's arms and opened its mouth wide. The effect was immediate: the surrounding air whipped wildly across the room, being sucked into the white creature's mouth. Then, a flash of light shot straight into the mouth and Mokona promptly closed its mouth tight.

Eyes were on the innocent-looking creature in Matthew's arms as it let out a soft burp. Syaoran stared at the white creature. "Mokona…"

Tears threatening to fall from his eyes, the spectacled boy muttered, "M-Mokona…? W… What did you just…?"

Mokona huffed up its tiny chest and beat a little paw onto itself. "That was just one of Mokona's 108 secret skills: _super-suction power_!"

'Arthur' gritted his teeth at that, glaring at the white creature. Fai used the distraction to release himself from the magic-lock. The cloaked man merely scowled at Syaoran and his group. "Well, it looks like you have a trick or two up your sleeve." Slowly, he raised a hand, the tips of his fingers glowing. "Let's take all those tricks away first, shall we?"

The sound snap of fingers echoed throughout the whole room. Syaoran blinked once, and suddenly found himself out of the den – of the house itself – and somewhere in the garden grounds. The distinctive smell of roses and dampness hung in the air. He was almost sure of the grass underneath his feet. He looked around and saw the others looking just as surprised as he was. A heavy fog had settled in London as time already passed into night…

…And red glinting eyes surrounded them.

Syaoran immediately took his stance in response. When did _they_ start appearing? He stepped back and found himself with Kurogane, Fai and even Norge circling around Matthew and Francis. From the way the other two blondes were shaking, they weren't as prepared for dangers like this.

Kurogane let out a soft grunt and unsheathed _Ginryû_. Syaoran's eyes widened at the blade's sheen. "Wait, Kurogane-san—!"

Beside the ninja, Fai readied into a stance. "It can't be helped…"

"Fai-san!"

Kurogane ignored the boy's panic-stricken state. He wondered why the kid was even hesitating to pull out his own sword. Well, that's up to him. He preferred to take a critical look at the enemy before them.

They were hounds, a dozen or so for each of them, appearing from out of the fog, growling and snarling at them menacingly. It wasn't just the eyes that had him on alert – their forms were far too bony to be even living, their appearances haunting. If he took a closer look at those hounds, their very structure appeared nothing more than smoke and shadows. But with teeth ready to rip out flesh.

These must be ghost-hounds then, no doubt about it.

Behind him, Kurogane could make out the quiet whimpering of the two blondes. He stifled a grunt. A bunch of whiners, these two. At least, the new blonde (Norge, was it?) looked much more reliable in these situations. Although, he did seem to pout about something. Then, the ninja blinked. Oh, he didn't have a weapon with him. Figures.

The cloaked Arthur suddenly gave Norge a mocking smile. "Oh, don't feel so left out, Norway. Fortunately for you, I am a gentleman as well and consider fairness even in these matters."

Immediately, Kurogane gave 'Arthur' a look. How can he consider being outnumbered by bloodthirsty ghouls as _fair_?

Nevertheless, the man continued in his condescending tone, "Therefore, I shall bestow upon you these." He snapped his fingers once and a rapier descended onto the ground – right between Francis's legs, much to the man's fright as he let out a rather unmanly yelp. Norge remained quiet on his side as a mace pierced the ground in front of him.

With a hand on his waist, the new Arthur showed his other hand and proclaimed, "Be grateful to be before someone as great and merciful as I!" He neatly finished off his mockery of them with an outright cackle.

Kurogane merely stifled another snort. This guy's getting too full of himself…

When the cloaked man recovered from his laughter, the growls then began to grow louder. "Then again," —and his brow was raised again in challenge— "what could _ordinary pieces of metal_ possibly do against the _undead_?"

A piercing roar erupted and the hounds began their charge at the hapless group, claws outstretched, mouths rowed with pointed teeth open to bite. Syaoran faintly saw Francis holding onto Matthew tighter, clearly reacting to the assault, but Norge merely snorted in response.

"Delgren."

With a nod, the green creature stepped up and dealt with four hounds at once by a mere swipe of its arm. On its right, Kurogane slashed away with his sword. Unfortunately, his _Ginryû_only went through smoke, not meeting any flesh. Fai was doing fairly better – he revealed his claws and, with blue eyes showing slit pupils, hacked onto the hounds' shadowy bodies, their agonized cries howling upon contact. Norge also fought by their side, beating through the hounds with an experienced hand.

Syaoran, on the other hand, remained with the huddled blondes. This wasn't right. Arthur-san was acting very strangely. He thought their host would stop fooling with them at any moment, but he didn't. In fact, he seemed dead set on bringing harm to them, all for some _proof_ that—

Wild growls were heard from behind and Syaoran turned to see a group of hounds pouncing right at him, baring their bloodthirsty teeth. They were far too close, could he even summon his sword on time or—

"_Niflheim vind!_"

The ghost-hounds stopped just before their teeth could taste flesh, frozen in place and Syaoran fought back a shiver coming down his spine. He stared as Norge walked to the fragile bodies and silently dealt the finishing blow, shattering them into uncountable pieces.

Syaoran looked as the usually emotionless blonde started to show signs of annoyance. "N-Norge-san…?"

"Syaoran," Norge called him with a glare and the boy immediately stood up straighter, taking a sharp breath when the blonde pointed his mace at him. "Tell me, whose side are you on?"

"I-I…"

He saw the other's brow twitch and suddenly found the mace up between his eyes. "Whom will you _really_ fight for?" Syaoran only grew more confused by Norge's actions. Why was Norge-san suddenly asking him these questions? Weren't they on the same side or—

A ghostly growl came resounded behind Norge and a ghost-hound was suddenly moments away from feasting on the blonde's flesh. Syaoran's eyes widened at the sight. "Watch out!"

He quickly sidestepped behind Norge to meet the ghost-hound, clapping his hands together. Sparks of magic appeared from between his hands as Syaoran revealed his _Jian_ sword. Not wasting any time, he raised his blade at the hound and cried out, "_Kashin shourai!_"

The ghost-hound wailed as its entire body, smoke and all, began to burn from where his sword cut it. As its remains burned away into ashes fleeting in the wind, Norge's words echoed in his mind: _whom will you really fight for?_ Syaoran stood back to face him and give him his answer: "I fight… for my friends!"

Syaoran spared a glance at the quiet 'Arthur' smirking at him. If fighting was the only way to bring the old Arthur back, then…

"Then, it'll be a pleasure fighting with you," Norge muttered, giving him a small smile. Syaoran nodded, smiling back.

"_HAMA-RYUOUJIN!_"

Both stood still as fierce gusts of winds suddenly beat around them, effectively cutting away the rest of the ghost-hounds. Syaoran turned and found Kurogane crouched low with his sword outstretched and enveloped in his chi. As the dust clouds lifted, Fai tried to whistle. "Well done, Kuro-sama~!"

The ninja merely let out a huff as he stood back up, lowering his _Ginryû_ for a moment, and Syaoran let himself take a sigh of relief.

So, Kurogane-san and Fai-san were alright, as well.

Norge faced 'Arthur', who was eying them with a narrow-slipped smile all the while, and gave him a frown. "England! You've proven yourself as a powerful being, now stop all this—"

"I haven't proven _anything_ yet," the cloaked man cut in, half-closed eyes drilling holes at the blonde, "Moreover, how many times must I keep telling you not to call me by that name. I am—"

Norge stopped him short with a grunt. "Let's finish this quickly, then. Delgren!"

The green creature immediately came to the blonde's call. It nodded once before hurtling itself towards 'Arthur', its hands outstretched and—

_BANG!_

Everyone watched, eyes wide in horror, as the creature roared in pain and tumbled off-course and into dirt, holding onto its bleeding arm the whole time. 'Arthur' just gave it a triumphant smile.

"Delgren!" Norge cried as he quickly went to the bleeding creature's side. He soothed it gently in a language Syaoran couldn't understand from the distance. His eyes, however, were sharp enough to see the injury on its arm: a small, yet profusely bleeding wound. It was almost as if a bullet had hit it.

Syaoran turned when 'Arthur' let out a scoff. "A tad late, aren't you… Britannia?"

A low chuckle hinting the sound of danger echoed around them, the mere resonance haunting. A man clad in knee-high boots and gold-trimmed red coat stepped up from behind the Brit. A two-flapped hat rested on golden locks, an ostrich feather tucked between one of the flaps. Tied to his leather belt was an empty holster. The pistol in question remained in a gloved hand, its barrel still smoking from the fire.

Familiar green eyes slipped in a glint of dark amusement as the same yet unknown voice spat, "Quit whinin', ya bilge rat. The fun's jus' startin'."

* * *

**Special notes**:

_Ginryû_ – name of Kurogane's sword; means **Silver Dragon** (The spelling of the name varies depending on the translator/publisher of the English version, but I went with the spelling hosted by Mangafox, the meaning from TRC Wiki)

Delgren – from the name Grendel (check out Beowulf)

Niflheim – one of the nine-worlds in Norse mythology, the underground realm of ice (and the place where pretty much everything else came from) (based from godchecker (dot) com)

_Niflheim vind_ – according to Google Translate, _vind _means wind (of course), Niflheim is explained above

_Jian_ sword – the type of sword Syaoran uses

_Kashin shourai_ – one of Syaoran's less used attacks (actually, he only used this once, and even then, it pretty much failed); translated as **Come forth: Fiery Blaze** (the translation and the spelling of the Romaji varies upon the translator/publisher of the English version but went with spelling as hosted by Mangafox and the translation according to _Chuang Yi_)

_Hama-ryuoujin_ – one of Kurogane's common attacks; translated as **Dragon-king Demonbane Slash** (again, the translation and spelling of the Romaji varies upon the translator/publisher of the English version but went with _Chuang Yi_'s spelling and translation)

Bilge rat – literally, a rat that lives in a bilge of a ship, the lowest level of the ship filled with frankly gross water; on **International Talk Like a Pirate Day**, guys who celebrate this event call their friends this nickname of sorts – a friendly insult, in this case (based on talklikeapirate (dot) com (slash) howto)

* * *

**A/N**: While listening to あかいくつ偽, I feel out of practice when writing the fight scenes. It's been too long! But anyways, Happy Halloween :)


	5. Breaking

**Afterword on Freedom**

* * *

Syaoran couldn't help but stare at the two figures before them baring the same face. _Two_ Arthur-san's? That's impossible! But the smell of gunpowder began to fill the air as the man in the red coat returned the pistol to its holster. That bullet was too real, the green creature beside Norge still bleeding. That pistol was definitely a genuine; no tricks involved whatsoever. Then that meant the second Arthur was…

"Impossible," he heard Francis whisper. His face had turned paler than ever, bright blue eyes staring wildly at the man donned in red. The second Arthur merely smirked at him and immediately, he froze. "… _Cher Dieu._"

Cold green eyes looked over them with a condescending gaze as he drawled, "Well, well, well. Look wha' we go' 'ere." He turned to his left as he remarked to the cloaked Arthur, "Seems like ol' England's go' a bunch a scallywags o'er."

Britain nodded sullenly, a scowl on his face. "Indeed."

Syaoran blinked. Hold on, the second Arthur just mentioned England. But wasn't this place called England? He was definitely referring to a person, but how could that be? Unless…

The new Arthur's sudden stare – directed at _him_ – pried Syaoran out of his thoughts. The smirk on his face was thin, more than just hinting danger ahead. "Tha' particular boy's go' an interestin'… feature in 'im, too."

Beside him, Britain narrowed his eyes, gaze fixed on the boy as well. "Yes, a very… _unique_ existence, isn't he?"

At that, Fai resisted the urge to twitch. There was no way for them to know, could they?

As a smirk threatened to widen, the second Arthur brushed part of his coat aside to reveal a cutlass holstered to his belt and without a second thought, he unsheathed his blade. "A dubloon's sayin' the boy goes down beggin' on 'is knees."

Everyone instantly froze.

But Britain merely huffed. "If I recall, it was _I_ who accepted this boy's challenge. Besides, I would not stoop down so low as to—"

"Three dubloons t' whoever gets France soiled in 'is britches."

"… Make that five."

A feral grin appeared in the second Arthur's face. "Pleasure doin' business with ye," he chirped as he crouched low in preparation. Shadowed eyes glanced at Syaoran as he mouthed, "Bu' I'll deal with ye firs'…"

Then, before anyone could react, the second Arthur jumped and came down straight towards Syaoran, his blade up front and ready to cut flesh. Syaoran barely managed to block the attack and he strained at the sheer strength behind the assault, doubled by the jump.

In fact, the impact was all too evident as the surrounding fog swept out and around them, engulfing everyone else in the haze. Syaoran struggled to turn his head but they were already out of sight. An added push from the other blade made him swivel his head back up front and a dark, amused smirk met his gaze. "Can ye afford t' be distracted now, boy? Ye migh' 'ave no 'ead up yer shoulders nex'…"

Syaoran couldn't help but strain against the cold promise in those painfully familiar green eyes.

Deep within the fog, Fai was trying in vain to push the haze away from him. His frustration grew every time the fog just seemed to place itself back in front of him. This wasn't good. They've all been separated by this accursed fog. He couldn't even get though this heavy mist! And all the while, Syaoran would be fighting that other Arthur. Fai bit his bottom lip.

Syaoran-kun could take care of himself well, he knew, but… that Britannia felt more dangerous than even Britain. If this were to go on, he could be…

He paused in mid-step as another figure walked up to him from the fog. He felt his hopes sink and his frustration grow when he recognized the red coat bellowing behind the figure. But it was the bloodied cutlass in hand that had him gasp.

That smirk on his face never made his blood boil so. "Still tryin' t' ge' t' yer _dear_ friend?" Fai's fist clenched tighter when that infuriating smirk widened. "Well, ye don' 'ave t' worry 'bout tha' kid anymore."

At the same time, Kurogane was practically lashing out at the fog around him. "Damn this fog!" he yelled as he tried to sweep the heavy haze away from him only for the fog to swoop back around him. He lashed out again. "Damn it! I can't see _anything_ in this—"

He halted in his movements when a shadow stepped up to him, the steps muffled by the grass still underneath them. Kurogane gave the shadow a glare when he saw the red coat bellowing behind him. The only thing that differed from before was that his cutlass had gone and was replaced with a set of metal claws for each hand.

Kurogane narrowed his eyes at the new weapons. Where the hell did he get _those_ things from?

He wished he didn't stifle his grunt when the new Arthur gave him a smirk. "So yer next, are ya? Ya better make this las' longer than tha' other kid." Kurogane's eyes widened at the other's amused, wicked grin. "Tha' kid was pretty damn useless with tha' _hittin' stick_ of his. Practically helpless." A dark giggle escaped his lips even as Kurogane took his position, his grip tighter around the hilt than usual. "Ya should've seen tha' look on 'is face, jus' _begging_ fer 'is death—"

Metal instantly clashed as the two crossed their weapons, Kurogane itching to wipe that smirk off the jerk's face. But the smirk remained in place, turning haughty as the other Arthur sighed, "Don' tell me yer as predictable as tha' _brat_, are ye?"

He saw red and slashed his sword across those claws to release themselves from the lock.

At the same time, feet skidded back across the ground as Fai gritted his teeth at the other Arthur, his enemy. He pointed at him with a long thin _very_ sharp claw, bright blue eyes burning. "Don't worry. I will be your last opponent, I promise you."

All the while, in between the leaps and clashes of steel, Syaoran kept his eyes wide for any sign of his companions, but he eventually had to keep his sword up against the other Arthur's blade as they met in another swords-lock. That twisted smirk remained in his face the whole time. "Still worrie' 'bou' 'em landlubbers?"

Syaoran merely released himself from the swords-lock and frowned at the new Arthur before him. Britain-san was very close to the Arthur-san they had all known, but this Britannia was more different. He didn't look exactly like Arthur-san, more of a younger version of him instead. The cockiness, the recklessness – the personality of a wild rebellious teen was all there. He only frowned more.

Despite all that, he could still see that tiny bit of Arthur-san in both of them. It was that one thing that kept him from going all out on Britannia-san.

Then, a soft waft cooled his face as a slight breeze blew away parts of the fog around him. Syaoran looked around, hoping to see his companions. Finally, he did, but he stared in horror instead.

Not far from where he was, Kurogane and Fai were currently locked in a fierce battle of their own. And by the looks of it, they were both very eager to shed some blood.

Gritting his teeth, he turned his back on the other Arthur and made his way towards his two comrades. What was happening? Why had they suddenly gone against each other? Maybe, if they were to see him, they could end their fighting, just maybe… "Kurogane-san! Fai-san!"

But neither reacted to the call, not even so much as a glance. Syaoran felt his throat tighten when Kurogane landed a solid hit on Fai's arm, the blood splattering on the ground. They didn't respond at all, almost as if they couldn't see or hear—

"Yer opponen's righ' 'ere, boy!"

Britannia had slipped right next to him in an instant, already in a crouched stance. Before he could even move his sword, Syaoran was sent back by a blunt yet powerful hit to the chest. The impact left him breathless, the air escaping him harshly as he barely kept himself from hurdling straight to the ground, skidding at the last moments. He struggled to regain his breath, his sword piercing the ground more to help him stand back up again.

When he heard the muffled footsteps, he readied himself even as his hands continued to tremble. Syaoran glared at Britannia's expectant smirk. "What did you do to Fai-san and Kurogane-san?"

The other merely arched a thick brow at him. "Now, don' go barkin' t' me. Is all Britain's doin', the big softie," he muttered indifferently. Then, his smirk narrowed. "I, on the other hand, is no' so merciful…"

Britannia took a quick step forward, and Syaoran found himself unable to move, his muscles feeling stiff. He tried to move but his body just wouldn't budge. He watched helplessly as the other easily swiped his sword out of the way before cutting down at his chest. The pain was instant, surging all throughout his body, jolting him abruptly. He noticed hazily that his blood had splashed across the ground and on that smirking man's face.

Syaoran tried to cover his gaping wound with one hand, his other still holding onto his sword. He took a step back and then, the very floor disappeared from under him as he tripped and fell back to the ground, hitting his head and jolting more pain down his chest. The descent left him barely conscious, feeling more ridiculous and restricted than he liked.

A sharp heel stomped right at his foot and immediately Syaoran swiveled his head to face his opponent – and find the tip of a cutlass mere inches from his throat. The smirk had gone and a cold, steady gaze met him instead. "Give up, boy. Before I change me mind."

Syaoran merely furrowed his brows. He couldn't see it anymore. He couldn't see that last trace of Arthur-san in this man. All of a sudden, he was something strange, something unrecognizable. No, he had been a stranger this whole time. This was not Arthur-san at all. But if that were the case, then who…

"…_What_ are you?"

His question was met with the other's softened eyes. It caught Syaoran off-guard for a moment until the haughty voice went, "So are those a dyin' boy's las' words? Tch, pathetic." 'Arthur' crouched down and pulled onto the other abruptly by the front of his collar. "D'ye really wanna know?"

Syaoran stared off into those emotionless green eyes until something from across the other's shoulder caught his eye. It was Matthew, flustering over a familiar man wearing semi-proper yet comfortable-looking clothes and a pair of slippers on his feet. In his hands was also a book. The mere sight suddenly brought Syaoran back from his dreariness and he realized.

There was another pull on his collar and 'Arthur' whispered into his ear. "I am… England's soul."

* * *

**A/N:** If you want to read one with more mention of Great Britain, check out the twin story :) And this chapter's theme? _Katayoku no Tori_. What makes this song epic in itself? It's a Japanese song with some Italian in the middle.


	6. Comings of a Battle

**Afterword on Freedom**

* * *

There was another clash of weapons before Fai stepped back, gripping on to his injured arm. He didn't know how long he had been fighting against Britannia, he didn't realize his weak spot until the blade fell on him. That was a solid hit, his wound still bleeding. He could see the satisfaction spread on Britannia's face at the feat. The vampire merely returned the smirk with sharpened teeth, surprising his opponent.

"Tha' was a good hi'," Britannia told Kurogane as the ninja watched him with skeptical eyes. His opponent brushed off whatever excess blood was left on his arm and Kurogane narrowed his eyes at the healed appendage. What the…? How the hell did he…? Britannia licked off the bits of blood on his fingertips before flashing him a smile. "Bu' no' good enough."

A step forward, and Kurogane found himself bombarded by a shower of claws. Even as he held his ground, he couldn't help but notice the sudden quickness in his opponent's movements. Then, one claw managed to tear at his cloak, almost scraping down his arm. Was it just him or were those claws _sharper _than before? The thought frustrated him and he put more force into that last blow than usual.

Meanwhile, Fai felt almost ecstatic at his opponent's sudden flustering. But it wasn't really because of that. His entire body felt lighter, more flexible, his reflexes much faster. His eyes could see every sharp breath his opponent took, everything almost in a slow motion. He could hear the very pounding of their hearts, all too clear in his ears. Within him, he could feel the suppressed power. The suppressed powers of his vampire blood.

Who knew that the mere sight of blood could put so much excitement in him?

It made him feel more alive than ever.

As their battle continued, however, Fai couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic about all this. Britannia's moves, his techniques, down to the way he swung his sword at him – they were almost like… He had a hunch, but he didn't like it. Not at all.

The vampire let the weapons-lock last longer and he took one close look at the other's weapon. It was a two-edged sword, but he never saw Britannia use both of the edges to its full use. Rather, he remained fixed with using only one side of the blade. A real master of the blade would use his weapon to its full efficiency, but for him to be _stubborn_ to do so at a time like this was…

Furthermore, the blade was long, almost longer than Britannia's own height. That is, if Britannia _were_ as short as he had been before their battle. If Britannia really had most of Arthur-san's features, he should've been no taller than about his shoulders. _This_ Britannia, however… he was much, _much_ taller than he was by a good head or two, practically towering over him.

What's more, that faint scent of blood could only belong to that person.

Quickly, Fai released himself from the weapons-lock and cried out, "Kuro-sama!"

The other merely smirked at him, still bearing the image of Britannia. "Wha's this? Are ye gettin' despera' now?" The smirk deepened with those glowing green eyes. "Nobody's comin' fer help. _Nothin_'s gonna help ye now…"

Fai merely frowned. That voice sounded very much like Britannia's, but he couldn't be fooled. Not anymore. Through his enhanced sight, he could spot the faint aura of a magic about him. He glanced at his own hand, and he knew the aura was around him as well. It was a wonder how he could have fallen for a spell and not have sensed it earlier.

If he too had been enchanted to appear and sound like Britannia, then simply calling out "Kuro-chû" wouldn't help. It would be fun but it wouldn't get any reaction out of him. Fai did the second option.

Kurogane was, by then, utterly beside himself. After that one blow, Britannia suddenly became a monster and did an all-out attack on him. He was already pissed off by the fact that he couldn't lay one finger on him at that point. Then, after that weapons-lock, his opponent pulled away and just _stopped_. What the hell was going on with this guy!

The ninja noticed the other moving his lips but not hearing a word. He raised a brow. "What was that?" It took him a moment before he creased both brows together, showing a dark smile. "A distraction like that won't work on me, you little—"

He didn't continue his words when Britannia's claws suddenly disappeared, leaving him without any sort of weapon. Then the next words, with a voice he wasn't expecting, left him speechless: "Let's stop this farce right here."

Kurogane watched as Britannia lifted one finger to a side, and appeared to write something in the air. And left a glowing pattern floating in midair. The ninja stared at the familiar pattern, glancing at the smiling 'Britannia' for moment, until the pattern glowed so bright he had to close his eyes for a second.

When he opened his eyes again, the image of Britannia had gone and the familiar magician, albeit looking rather scratched up, was before him. How did…? What just…? After trying and failing to choose a question, Kurogane slipped into a scowl. "I'm going to whack that guy's head the next time I see him."

Fai nodded, the smile turning into a smirk. "Please do."

The magician watched as Kurogane looked around them, his scowl deepening when all he could see was the dense fog. "So I guess the kid's with the guy, eh?" he muttered when he went over to Fai's side.

"Most likely doing battle as well," Fai replied in thought. But with who: Britain or Britannia?

Beside him, the ninja let out a grunt. "I better not end up rescuing the kid." Without waiting for the other to follow, he proceeded to walk into the fog.

In his head, Fai translated those words as, _"Then, let's go to where Syaoran-kun is"_. The magician shook his head. Really, he should just be more honest sometimes. One thought remained in his mind, however, as he trailed after the ninja: where could Syaoran-kun be?

~oOoOoOo~

_When Syaoran opened his eyes, he felt as if he had been here before. _

_He blinked once, stared hard in front of him, but nothing changed. Wherever he looked, no matter how long he waited, his eyes didn't adjust to the lack of light wherever he was. He placed his hand in front of his face, but was still unable to see it. He placed it back down with a sigh. It was as if there was no light to begin with. Only darkness. Syaoran frowned._

"_Am I… dreaming?"_

"_No."_

_Syaoran blinked, surprised by the sudden response as well as the familiar voice. He turned to a side and actually found the obvious colors of a red coat. Noting the firm ground underneath his feet, he began to walk towards the figure. With every echoing step, he could make out the finer details: an elegant white shirt worn underneath the red dress coat, a neat thin ribbon tied around the collar, spiky blonde hair framing the face with very thick eyebrows, familiar green eyes staring back at him…_

_Brown eyes stared at the not-frown on the familiar face and the voice that had previously shown him coldness and menace was now filled with softness and warm comfort. "This is my dream."_

_

* * *

_

**A/N:** While listening to _Theme of the White Devil – Axis - Disturbances_ (which is the 'Japan' boss theme in Romaheta), I realized that England-san could've worn other kinds of clothes during the 17th century. Oh well.

And I remain stunned by the incident that I nearly typed in 'lover' instead of 'longer'. Geez…


	7. The Mark of the Past

**Afterword on Freedom**

* * *

**Warning:** _Italics_. Yep, all of it.

* * *

"_A-Arthur-san…?" Syaoran muttered, stepping closer. He had the same face – the spiky blond hair, the soft green eyes, the very thick eyebrows… Aside from the different clothes, he looked exactly like the Arthur he and the other Syaoran knew. But… Something wasn't right._

_The other man shook his head and Syaoran stopped in his tracks. He was faced again with that not-frown and he noticed it looked very pained. "I am Arthur… but not the Arthur you and your friends know of as your host here in London."_

_Syaoran stilled. If he wasn't Arthur-san, then was he Britain? Or maybe Britannia? Then again, if he were any of the two, then he should've attacked him by now. Instead, they were in a strange conversation in the middle of the darkness of a dream. When the other made no further move to continue, he asked warily, "Then who…?"_

_With a small smile, the other muttered, "Earlier on, Britannia mentioned that he was England's soul, yes?" Syaoran's eye twitched, feeling a quick pang of pain at the memory, but nodded. The other smiled at him as if in apology but continued, "He was partially correct, though I suppose he should have said it more clearly. He, along with Britain and British Empire, is but part of the soul of the Arthur you're most familiar with." He placed a hand on his chest, over his heart. "I too am one of the four that comprises his soul."_

"_His… soul?"_

"_Yes, that's right," the other replied almost too calmly. _

"_But you…" Syaoran's head was spinning with questions. "…you all act so differently… How can it…"_

"_The Arthur that you know has gone through many things over the centuries," he replied, those green eyes downcast. "Family members who he fears and yet respects above just about everything else, an empire extending to the seas, comrades that can later turn into enemies at any turn of the decades, secrets that have been cause for both friendship and war, colonies that rebel their way into independence…" _

_His voice had gone into almost a whisper and Syaoran strained to hear the last part. Finally, the other looked at him with a forced smile as he finished, "Not to mention two world wars, but that is just a fraction of what he experienced. There are also happier times, such as when the days were quieter, when the nations were more united…" _

_Then, those eyes finally noticed the baffled look on the boy. "Ah, I apologize for ranting off like that. Surely, you have many more questions in mind."_

_Oh, his head was filled with them. But Syaoran took a deep breath and started on one. "You said Arthur-san went through many things over the _centuries_." At the other's affirming nod, he continued, "So you're saying that he's experienced all these because he has lived for that long? Did his magic extend his lifespan so much that—?"_

_He was cut short by, of all things, the other's soft laughter. It sounded so light, so hearty, and Syaoran almost forgot how grave their situation was. It was like a sound of a past long forgotten, a past of more peaceful days… _

_When the laughter died down, the other was giving him an amused smile. "My boy, it is much simpler than that."_

"_Eh?"_

"_In this world, no human can live longer than a hundred and fifty years, give or take a few years. Even with the advancement of medicine and science, humans are still finding ways to lengthen their lives using technology. In the case of beings like your Arthur, they were already born to live for as long as their corresponding country lives. Other beings like him are Francis, Matthew and even Norge."_

_At that, realization dawned on him. "Arthur-san… even Francis-san, Matthew-san and Norge-san… they're not… human?"_

"_To put it simply, yes."_

_Syaoran felt his throat tighten, in anxiety or in anticipation he wasn't sure, and he found himself asking the same question. "Then who… _what_ are they?"_

"_They are the personifications of the countries in this world." Those green eyes seemed to pierce right at him. "The Arthur you know is England – he is the personification of the very country you are all in right now."_

_When he had finished, Syaoran bowed his head, eyes staring at his feet, struggling to absorb all of it. He was terribly confused. Arthur-san was England; Arthur-san was a _country_. It wasn't only Arthur-san; Francis-san, Matthew-san and Norge-san were countries too. His mouth mumbled on its own without his realizing. "But how can… that's just…"_

_The boy didn't see the soft smile on the other's face directed at him. "If a person's memories were to take the form of feathers, why do you need to question a country bearing a human form as well?"_

_At that, Syaoran blinked. He was right. The other Syaoran didn't question the high priest Yukito when he explained his Sakura's predicament. Many other things that happened in their last journey couldn't have been explained further than 'it's just the way the world works'. Perhaps in this world, having personifications of countries is considered _normal_. And he would have to take all that in stride. _

_He frowned slightly as another question came into mind. "If you're all parts of a whole, then why do the different pieces of England-san's soul call themselves differently?"_

_The other blinked at him for a moment and crossed his arms in thought. "Well, England had other names in the past, as well as differing personalities. _Britannia_ is a bit more of his poetic name that had been used by the bards especially back in the days when he was the 'pirate' who ruled the seven seas. That reign eventually extended into the farthest reaches of the world, earning him the name of the _British Empire_. More recently, he is part of what is called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Though if Scotland and Wales ever found out that their little brother entitled himself as _the Great Britain_…" He gave off a great shudder and Syaoran thought it unwise to ask._

_Feeling a bit of curiosity, he asked, "What about you?"_

"_M-Me?" the other stuttered and Syaoran watched him glancing to a side and perceiving the look of intense thought if only to hide the slight blush. He had to stifle a chuckle; the look was admittedly cute. Finally, the other coughed into a fist before replying, "Technically, I would also be a part in England's time when he was dubbed as the British Empire, though that would only confuse you with the other part of his soul who goes by that name. However, I do comprise more of the time when he had America and Canada as his colonies, a time when the alliances between countries were stronger; a more memorable era…" _

_There was a twinkle in his eyes as he went on, "A long time ago, the countries used to call each other by a human name, not only to avoid confusion for the humans but also to signify our familiarity and alliances with one another. As I represent the England of that era, I simply go by the name Arthur."_

"_Arthur…san?" Syaoran echoed. _

_The image—Arthur nodded before slipping in a lopsided smile. "Although, I suppose it would only confuse you right now since England formerly introduced himself as Arthur and all, but that is what I am called. The true name of the Arthur that you know, however, is _England_ and no fragment of his soul can carry that name but the soul as a whole." Arthur blinked a few more times, his eyes in thought, until he showed a scowl. "Ah, now I am confusing myself."_

_Syaoran sputtered for a moment and couldn't it hold back anymore – he began to laugh. It was a healing laughter, one that allowed him to shake off all the stress that had been building inside of him, and by the time he had finished, he was nearly out of breath. A glance at Arthur's face, however, brought back a few more snickers. _

_Arthur's face was just flushed red, turning a few shades darker as he exclaimed, "I-It is not funny! S-Stop that at once!"_

_When Syaoran finally got a hold of himself, he smiled apologetically. "Sorry…"_

_Just as the words left his lips, a great rumble erupted from underneath their feet. Syaoran struggled to regain his footing, though he noticed that Arthur didn't even seem to feel the powerful trembling. Rather, he seemed far more interested into staring at something from high above._

"_Arthur-san?" Syaoran called out to him._

_Arthur didn't take his eyes off from the ceiling, only letting out a mutter. "They have already begun."_

_Syaoran decided to wait out the quake until it stopped. "… already begun what?"_

_This time, Arthur looked at him and Syaoran saw the sudden somberness in his eyes. He heard the sound snap of fingers echoing around them and a great image suddenly over them. Syaoran gaped at what the image showed. _

_Kurogane and Britannia were in the middle of an intense battle, crossing blades over and over until the pirate quickly slipped away from the last hit. The ninja didn't falter as the sword merely immersed itself in light. He raised his glistening Ginryû up high, letting out a fierce cry. The bright light quickly sprung out of the blade and, like an aimed lightning strike, dived towards Britannia with a thunderous descent. The collision broke the very ground into crumbling pieces of stone, bringing about another cluster of dust clouds. _

_All eyes were transfixed on the dust clouds, the apprehension in Syaoran's throat nearly choking him. He took a quick glance at quiet Arthur who merely watched on without a word. He didn't even seem bothered that Syaoran's own comrade was beating up a fragment of England's soul, a fellow soul fragment, right before his eyes. Did he even care? _

_The answer came to him when a cutlass sliced through the parting dust clouds and Britannia merely smirked at them all. "No' t' bad," he muttered, wiping away any dust that remained on his red coat. That smirk widened and his other hand went for his pistol. "Bu' now i's my turn." _

_Britannia took a step forward and suddenly, he was right next to Francis, his cutlass ready to strike right at the other's head. Syaoran wanted to warn him but the words never came out as the pirate bombarded the poor nation with strikes that seemed to come from all directions; he barely managed to block them all. _

_Then, Syaoran saw Kurogane slip behind the pirate to strike him from behind. Only, Britannia already saw him coming and stepped aside at the last second, letting Francis take the blow instead. The ninja only just twisted his sword to hit the nation on the head with the flat side of his weapon. _

_Just as Kurogane breathed out a curse, an aimed hit to the hilt of Ginryû sent the ninja's sword upward and revealed an open torso, which Britannia struck multiple times. His eyes were getting used to the speed, and Syaoran was positive those hits were aimed right at the vital points – the ones that could immobilize a person in seconds. Anxiety piled in his chest. "Kurogane-san!"_

_Fai's familiar glowing pattern caught his eye just as Britannia aimed his pistol at the magician. "Fai-san—!" _

_Whatever else he could've said were cut off by the piercing sound of two shots being fired. The next instant, Fai kneeled to the ground, his good arm covering his bleeding shoulder, the entire arm now drenched in blood. Syaoran watched as Matthew slumped to the wounded magician's side, looking at the extent of the injuries. He could only watch but was unable to help. _

_Syaoran felt his hands curl into tight fists. It didn't take long before his nails embedded crescent-shaped marks in his palm. He couldn't take it any longer. "Why?" He looked at Arthur who only looked back at him in silence. "Why must we fight one another?" When he merely looked away, the boy urged, "Arthur-san!"_

_Those green eyes looked on at the image, which now showed the normally timid Matthew shouting at Britannia with a brave face. Arthur's face crinkled into a glare as soon as Britannia snapped at the poor blonde before looking away and turning instead to the boy. _

_His voice came out whisper-soft, gentle like a breeze. "Syaoran, do you have a wish you want to be granted so badly you are willing to sacrifice everything?"_

_Syaoran frowned, remembering his previous journey as well as the journey he was on now. "I do."_

_A small smile slipped from the other's lips. "Then, we are the same in that way."_

"_Eh?"_

_Arthur's green eyes softened in thought as he continued, "Like you, England also has a wish he so desperately wants to grant. He tries very hard, goes to many lengths, in order to make that wish into a reality. However," and those eyes darkened with sadness, "despite centuries of his efforts, nothing has really happened." He then shook his head before showing a new sparkle in those eyes. "But now there is a way to change all that – a way to finally realize the wish that has been weighing on England's heart for the last two hundred years."_

_Syaoran watched as Arthur laid out his hand and an image of a book appeared atop it. Instead of falling into his hand, it remained afloat just mere inches above his palm. He remained transfixed as the book suddenly opened to reveal the filled pages until it stopped at one, the last page. Syaoran stared._

_Imprinted on the paper was a single insignia that covered the whole front of the page. It was a pattern of a bat inscribed in a circle, dyed in deep red, almost like dried blood. Syaoran immediately recognized the mark that he never thought he would encounter ever again._

_It was the mark of Fei Wong Reed._

_

* * *

_

**A/N**: Things are being revealed little by little and the mysterious fragment reveals himself! (Sorry about the _italics_ ambush, but it was necessary)

_Chapter's BGM_: America's Cleaning of Storage - Reminiscence


	8. The Choice

**Afterword on Freedom**

**Warning**: Yep, _italics_ still.

* * *

_Syaoran stared at the familiar red insignia on the book's last page, the image _taunting_ him. He immediately felt the familiar rage return, the same rage whenever he saw the damnable owner of that mark. Did Fei Wong Reed plan this as well?_

_The soul fragment didn't take notice of the other's ire as he muttered with dazed eyes, "It is truly a remarkable book. Once the magician is dead, whatever spells he or she had conjured would normally disappear. This book's creator has been long gone, yet this book remains intact. One could say this is a miracle."_

_Or a curse, Syaoran couldn't help but think. _

"_Arthur-san," he tried, "you mustn't use that book. You don't know what will happen if you—"_

"_Oh, but I do," Arthur cut him off with a cheery smile. "This book – this book that had been hidden deep within the icy depths of Svalbard – can perform one of the most arcane and most forbidden spells ever made." _

_Syaoran stared at the soul fragment's elated face. "The power to split a soul."_

_The boy resisted the urge take a step back. _Splitting_ a soul? That's just worse than merely cloning a soul… More than an act against nature, it's just… Syaoran felt his stomach lurch. If Fei Wong Reed had really used this book for himself, then it wouldn't have all ended back in the dream. As evil as he was, he didn't seem to have the nerve to do something so vile to his own person. _

_But then… what did that make of England-san?_

_At that, Syaoran steeled himself. No. There must be a reason why the fragments of England-san's soul would go to such dangerous lengths. There had to be… _

_Syaoran tried a step forward. "Arthur-san," he called to get the other's attention, "why do you want to use the book's magic so much? For what reason are you willing to use a spell as dangerous and prohibited as you say it is?"_

_The near-maniacal smile on the other's face slowly died down to a thin line. The boy couldn't make out whether that was a good sign or not. The soul fragment let out a sigh. "I was beginning to wonder when you would ask me that."_

_Syaoran raised a brow. "Arthur-san?"_

_Arthur's green eyes locked onto the boy's wide brown ones. "You must understand that humans are not the only ones capable of feeling regret. Even countries experience it, more so in fact."_

_Syaoran's eyes grew wider. "So, England-san… he…" _

_The other strained into a smile. "Over the course of the centuries, England has gone through many trials that no human could bear. These trials have made him stronger every time. However, these achievements do not come without consequence, ones being grimmer than excellent." Arthur took a moment to look back at the floating image overhead. "Quite few of these consequences, though, can become both a blessing and a sin." _

_Syaoran blinked at the other's softening smile and slowly followed Arthur's gaze towards the floating image. He stared. _

_A completely new image of England showed himself, this time clad in a redcoat military uniform with what looked like a musket aimed straight at Britannia. He didn't know whether the pirate was shaking from anger or fear, maybe both. Fai-san and the others were also staring as the two fragments of England's soul raised weapons at one another. The question left Syaoran's lips before he knew it: "Who's the new England-san?"_

"_That 'new England-san' is British Empire. He is the fifth fragment of England's soul, and is perhaps the most powerful among the five of us." Syaoran could only nod at that. For one thing, British Empire was the first to subdue the pirate into near immobilization with only so much as eye contact. But… why? Weren't the soul fragments on the same side?_

"_Not all the soul fragments have the same opinion on the matter," Arthur clarified in answer to Syaoran's unsaid questions. "The idea of using the book to resolve England's troubled heart came from Britain, and Britannia eventually sided along with him. However, British Empire thought differently. You could say that using such a lowly tactic would not only tatter England's pride, but also go against his initial choices. Of course, the other two disagree." Arthur shook his head. "It is rather sad, if you think about it: England is falling apart on the inside." _

_Syaoran looked away from the image (Britain just appeared and summoned wind spirits to entrap British Empire) to ask Arthur, "What about you?" At the other's raised brow, he elaborated, "Do you think Britain's right? That using the book is the only way?"_

_For a moment, Arthur just looked at him. He glanced at the book still floating atop his hand. Syaoran waited until the other sighed and gently closed the book, gripping it shut. "As much as I want to end England's sorrow, using this book would only lead to more harm than good. There are other ways in resolving all this, ways without having to resort in bloodshed. But we will not be able to take notice of these other options if this book remains to blind us." _

_Green eyes flickered with resolution as he offered the book to the startled Syaoran, saying, "Syaoran, you must awaken from this dream and return to the real world to use the remaining power within the book before Britain could use it himself. That way, his plan will not succeed and everything will remain on course as it should." _

_Syaoran was too tongue-tied to reply properly. "I-I will… what? But… how can I…?"_

_Arthur offered a comforting smile. "There is a strange connection between you and the book, Syaoran. Fai, Kurogane and even Mokona have connections to it as well, but yours is the strongest among them. It is as if something about you _attracts_ the book to you." Then, the smile flipped into a frown. "Britain knows this as well, and is currently in possession of your body to try to take that 'something' away from you." With that, he urged Syaoran to take the book again, adding, "You must hurry. Time is of the essence." _

_Syaoran, however, was not convinced. "Are you this willing to stop Britain's plan even if it means prolonging England-san's sadness? And why do you choose me to take the book and not Fai-san or Kurogane-san? They're already within the real world and…"_

_The smile on Arthur's face was enough to stop him in mid-sentence. "There is another reason why I am entrusting you with the power of the book, and it is not for me but for you. If you were to use the book's power, then you will be able to bring back the other Syaoran from two months ago."_

* * *

**A/N**: So much for a Happy Valentine's xD;; (What if you squint hard enough and imagine a SyaoranxArthur or... no, nevermind.)


	9. His Answer

**Afterword on Freedom**

**Warning**: _Italics_ again, but only partly this time.

* * *

"_The other Syaoran will…" Syaoran swallowed and tried again. "The other Syaoran can come back?" Even as he said those words, he still couldn't believe it. _

_Arthur nodded. "Once you use the power of this book, everything concerned will meet its resolution. Britain would no longer to be able to use the book and would be forced to cease his delusional plans. The other Syaoran would be able to return, and you would no longer be obliged to travel to all the many worlds anymore – you shall finally be relieved of your burden." He offered a small smile. "You may even have your own happy ending or other."_

_Syaoran stared first at Arthur then at the book as the words echoed in his mind: the other Syaoran will be able to return. After all the many dimensions they traveled to, finally, _finally_, they found a way to bring back the other Syaoran. The beginnings of a smile began to appear on his face. The other Syaoran could come back. All he had to do was take the book and—_

_His throat tightened unconditionally before his thoughts could even continue. Syaoran blinked, a sudden apprehension weighing upon his mind. If he were to use the book's power…_

"_Is something the matter, Syaoran?" Arthur's voice cleared him of his thoughts. "You look dreadfully pale." _

_Syaoran blinked at the soul fragment's concerned frown directed towards him and the face of England looked at him with worried eyes. The boy muttered the name before he could stop himself. "England-san…"_

_The smile on the other's face died down into a frown before he looked away. "Have I not already told you? I cannot be England. None of us, mere pieces of one entity, can claim that name. Only when the fragments of the soul are whole again can we be truly identified as England."_

_The boy opened his mouth to apologize when he realized something within the other's words. Throwing the book a cautious glance, Syaoran asked, "If I were to bring back the other Syaoran, will I use up all of the book's magic?"_

_Arthur furrowed a brow at him questioningly, but lowered the book still in his hand to brood. "Well, dividing a nation's soul requires a great amount of magic in itself. With England's soul already broken into four pieces, there is just enough power left in the book to split a soul one more time."_

_Syaoran bit his lower lip. "But can the book's power be undone, reverse its effects? Can you put back together a soul that had been split into pieces?"_

"_Syaoran, why on earth would you want to do such a—?"_

"_Can the fragments of England-san's soul be reunited?" Syaoran interrupted Arthur in almost a shout. The shocked look on the other's face made him feel angry. He wasn't sure why, but he felt angry. Angry and saddened. He quieted down for a moment to calm himself before continuing in a whisper, "Will anyone be able to call you 'England' when this is over?"_

_There was silence in all the blackness of the dream, the image that previously hovered over them now gone. Syaoran felt the tension build around him, but continued to stare imploringly at wide green eyes. The soul fragment seemed adamant in refusing to respond but finally, he sighed. _

"_Certain conditions must be met before undoing any sort of spell. Firstly, you must possess magic that is superior to the caster of the spell in order to even achieve the feat. Second, you must have ample knowledge of the spell you are to reverse or undo. This is to avoid any casualties during and after the spell's removal."_

_Arthur closed his eyes, wearing a deeper, sadder frown. "England's power was far superior to the book's own magic. However, with his soul split into pieces, so has his magic. Not even Britain, the soul fragment possessing most of England's magic, does not have enough power to undo the book's magic. Fai previously had a great amount of magic, but his power is now only half of what it had been. Norway can also use magic, but…" Arthur didn't continue and just shook his head._

"_But does Britain-san know anything about the book's magic that might…?"_

_Again, Arthur shook his head. "I am afraid the most reliable facts that we know about it is that its only ability is to split a soul, and that its power does not originate from this world."_

"_So, you're saying that," Syaoran muttered with clenched fists, "no one can break the book's spell? Nobody can bring England-san's soul back together?"_

_The soul fragment merely bowed his head. _

_For the first time since the start of their conversation, Syaoran looked away from Arthur. They were trapped, or rather, England-san was doomed. With the book's power, he could return the other Syaoran. But at the price of a whole nation, a dear friend? He knew that he said that he would do anything for his wish to be fulfilled, but he also said that he would fight for his friends. And wasn't using the book another way of sealing England-san's fate?_

_He clenched his fists tight enough to draw blood. There must be another way. But… Syaoran soon gritted his teeth as he realized that he had no idea how to save England. No idea other than to… _

_He swiveled his head back in Arthur's direction and declared, "Then I'll destroy the book!"_

"_I-I beg your pardon?" Arthur stuttered even as he began to step back. _

_Syaoran took a step forward. "All of this began with the book and the power inside it. If I manage to remove the source, maybe then England-san could—"_

"_Do not act so rash, boy!" Arthur retorted, holding on to the book tightly against his chest. "If you do that, you will not be able to bring back the other Syaoran! You may not have this opportunity again!"_

"…_That's true," Syaoran muttered, pausing in his steps. "If I get rid of the book now, I'd have to go to many other worlds again just to get another chance like this. I don't even know when that would happen and there's no guarantee that there'll even be another chance… But still!" With a determined look, he said, "I will continue to travel to different worlds! I will keep on moving forward!"_

_When Syaoran had finished, Arthur looked at him with an unreadable expression. "You are… certain of this?" he muttered close to a whisper. "You do realize that you will make your whole life into a journey with no clear destination or conclusion, going between dimensions, not lingering in one place for too long…"_

_At that, the boy gave him a smile. "That's the price I pay for existing." _

_Arthur stared at him with wide green eyes for a moment, but recovered quickly to shake his head at the boy. "Well then, if you are going to be so difficult, I will stop convincing you otherwise. Just… promise me one thing?" Syaoran blinked just as the book was offered up to him. "Knock some sense into that old foolish England on my behalf, would you?"_

_Syaoran blinked again before accepting the book with a smile. "I promise."_

_The soul fragment's beaming smile was beginning to fade in the growing light around them even as he chirped, "Good lad!"_

~oOoOoOo~

The first thing that Syaoran felt was the pain. It was so overwhelming, so excruciating that he thought he was going to faint again. From afar, he could spot two certain men exchanging blows not too far away. It was Norge fighting against Britain wielding what seemed like an invisible weapon. Then it all came back to him – the dream, Arthur, and most of all, the book.

He vaguely felt his feet touching the ground, and the boy recognized the mess of blonde hair and stray hair curl in front of him. It was Matthew, no, Canada-san, was it? Seeing the other's shaking knees, Syaoran placed a gentle hand on the nation's shoulder in comfort. Only for the nation to yelp at his touch and zip his head back at him. Purple eyes quickly widened behind those oval glasses in realization. "S-Syaoran?"

Syaoran forced a smile. He opened his mouth to greet him but the gash on his chest suddenly throbbed and he cringed at the pain, almost losing his footing. Panic-stricken, the other steadied him and tried to look over his injuries. He was losing blood, he knew, and he barely had any time to let his wounds heal. But still…

As the boy struggled to stand back up, the nation tried to stop him, reprimanding him, "Don't, Syaoran! You need to rest. Your injuries haven't—"

"Canada-san."

Syaoran knew what effect his words would have on the other, and he saw Canada's face turn pale. "Syaoran, you…"

He placed a bloodied hand on the nation's trembling one. "Britain-san… he still has the book, doesn't he?"

At first, the other blanked at his words. Then, he exclaimed in realization, "T-That's right!" Canada looked back to where Norge and Britain were still exchanging blows. "Norway—I-I mean, Norge's fighting Britain right now. I'm sure he can handle him, and—"

"No, he can't," Syaoran breathed, relying heavily on Canada's supporting weight to stand back up. "Not alone."

"But what can you do in your state?" Canada snapped, and Syaoran could see that the nation was fretting about him. "You're still bleeding, and you barely have any strength left! You're in no condition to fight Britain. _You'll just die!_"

That was when his brown eyes smiled at the nation's tearful face. "I won't die. I still have a promise to keep, and I don't want to break it." And, before Canada could say anything more, he dashed off.

As he ran towards Norge and Britain, Syaoran went past the huddled forms of Fai and Kurogane. They were greatly injured but otherwise safe from harm's way at the moment. He wanted to pause and tend to them, but Kurogane only pointed a thumb at the ongoing battle while Fai nodded at him. They all meant the same thing: _keep going_. He gritted his teeth but looked forward and continued to run.

He needed to stop Britain before anything else might—

"And where d'ya think ye're goin'?"

Instinct told him to unleash his sword, and Syaoran barely blocked Britannia's ambush from up above. He struggled against the sheer force behind the attack, doubled by the jump Britannia must have done. Not too far away, he saw Norge struggling to deflect one of Britain's attacks. He was running out of time. "Please, Britannia-san!" Syaoran cried. "I have to get to Britain-san and—"

But Britannia shifted his cutlass and managed to fling Syaoran's sword out of the boy's hand. Syaoran faintly heard his sword stab the ground somewhere behind him as the pirate pointed his sword straight between his eyes. "Ye're goin' nowhere, ya damn—"

Francis suddenly came in between them and parried the cutlass out of Syaoran's direction. At the same time, British Empire came up from behind Britannia and knocked him out with a curt strike to the neck. It all happened so fast that Syaoran blinked at Britannia's now unconscious body lying on the ground before him.

British Empire maneuvered around the pirate's body on the ground to confront Syaoran and ask, "Are you alright?"

Syaoran blanked for a moment to muse that the Empire and Arthur were more similar to each other than with the other soul fragments. He slowly nodded in response. Beside him, Francis crossed his arms. "So, you're going to end this nightmare, mon ami?"

The boy stood up straighter and nodded, "Yes."

British Empire narrowed his eyes at that, but the other gave him a small smile and, offering his dagger, said, "Then use this. It has the power to nullify anything that bouffon Britain throws at you."

Syaoran eyed the elegant dagger in the other's hands. It was a double-edged blade with what appeared to be a cross at the center of the hand-guard. It was also emanating some kind of powerful, divine aura. He didn't have time to take his sword back now, so Francis's dagger was the weapon of choice.

The boy accepted the dagger from Francis. He muttered a quick "Thank you" before continuing on his way to Norge and Britain.

He went slipped past them so quickly that he didn't see British Empire's concerned frown. Francis gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder as he too watched the boy go. "We've done our part, mon cher. Now we can only believe in that child."

As Syaoran ran, he realized that Norge was no match for Britain and his invisible weapon. Even though he stood firm against the attacks, he could tell even from his distance that he was struggling. Norge didn't have enough strength to fully take Britain on. Time was running out.

"Britain-san!" Syaoran shouted as he approached the two now staring at him as if they had seen a ghost. Well, that's partly true.

Britain was the first to recover. "You!" Britain all but screeched, and giving his full attention to the boy. "But how could you—"

Norge saw his chance. Using the pommel of his sword, he struck Britain's blind spot and somehow ignited the many sparks that flew all throughout Britain's body. The impact also forced a certain book out of Britain's cloak. Syaoran met Norge's gaze, and both nodded at one another.

Syaoran let out a battle cry, getting ready to throw the dagger at the book hurtling across the air, just as Norge cried out his incantation,

"Κενότητοζ άστράπσατω δέ τεμέω!"

Bright green eyes grew wide as Britain coughed his last words. "No… don't…!"

"_ΔΙΟΣ ΤΥΚΟΣ!" _

A great bolt of lightning struck, shaking the earth underneath them. The light that came with the strike draped almost everything in white, but Syaoran still saw it: the dagger had hit its mark straight through, and now Britain's very image began to dissolve into nothing. He wasn't sure – it could've been a trick of the light – but he thought he saw Britain smiling amidst the tears…

Then, he wasn't so sure it was a mere of trick of the light when another image appeared before him. It was Arthur, the England from the dream. He too was dissolving away, and yet he was smiling.

"_Thank you_," he said even as Syaoran resisted closing his eyes from the harsh light. "_I am sure the other Syaoran is very proud of you…_"

* * *

**Special Notes:**

Bouffon – foolish in French (according to Google Translate)

Κενότητοζ άστράπσατω δέ τεμέω! ΔΙΟΣ ΤΥΚΟΣ! – _Come forth, o Lightning from the Void, and cut down my enemies. AXE OF LIGHTNING!_ This is DelRey's translation of the Greek spell, but copying the Greek characters was to the best of my ability since this incantation came from the famous _Negima!_ manga. This spell seems to require an unspoken _sagitta magica_ (or _magical arrow_ spell in Latin) that would be done in contact with the target before it can be properly manifested. It's also interesting to note that this spell is used to terminate high-level demons (guess who's the "demon" here ;)

* * *

**A/N:** The fighting's finally done! =faints=

Since my finals officially ended the other day, I'm celebrating my freedom with a long chapter~ Cheers!

_This chapter's BGM_: White Night True Light [DNAngel OP]


	10. Reflection

**Afterword on Freedom**

**Warning**: Who's afraid of potty-mouth?

* * *

England's room was large but with just the necessary furnishings laid out: a wooden closet, a full-body mirror, a bed big enough for three people and a bedside table. There was even a grandfather clock next to the closet. As the hands on the clock ticked on, Syaoran glanced at the small picture frame standing atop the bedside table.

It had a picture, no, a small replica of a painting of England back when he was called Arthur. Syaoran knew this by the clothes he was wearing – they were exactly the same as the ones Arthur-san wore in the dream. Holding his hand beside him was a small boy in plainer garments with smiling blue eyes instead of green. In fact, they didn't look much the same except for the blonde hair. Syaoran tried a small smile. Despite that, they both looked very happy together, just like a family.

Although, he couldn't help the feeling that he had seen the young boy somewhere before… A much older version of him or other…

Syaoran glanced back to the real England sleeping in his bed, safe but unconscious. He had been in that state since the incident took place two nights ago. It was the morning of July 4, Alfred-san's birthday, and England still hadn't woken up yet. He clutched his hands tighter as he sat beside the sleeping nation's bed.

Seated on the other side of the bed was Canada, looking just as worried as he was, his usually bright purple eyes now downcast and dark with anxiety. Neither of the two spoke, though the other people in the room were loud enough for the both of them.

Leaning against one of the walls, Kurogane snorted and gave Francis, no, France a narrowed glare. "I still don't believe that you're all nations. I mean, how can some big mass of land be a person?"

Holding the still sleepy Mokona in his arms, Fai remarked, "Actually, Kuro-pii, they're personifications of their respective nations."

The ninja's glare shifted in the magician's direction. "And you! You've known about their true identities this whole time!"

Wearing a thin smile in apology, Fai sighed, "Okay, you got me there. But you see, Kuro-sama, it was supposed to be a secret to the humans here too. If it were to leak out that these many important figures had assembled in one place, who knows what kind of trouble might ensue!"

All the while, France had been nodding at Fai's words, until the ninja caught him and sent the poor Frenchman quivering with those piercing red eyes. Norge, or rather, Norway, who seemed to have been conversing with a strange ball of light by the window, gave them a bored look. "So noisy…"

As the three went at it again (with Norway continuing his conversation with the ball of light), Syaoran couldn't help but smile.

"You're coping well despite all that's happened."

"Eh?" Syaoran turned back and found Canada fumbling with his fingers, eyeing him cautiously.

The Canadian looked down as he stuttered, "I-I mean, y-you don't look at all surprised to know that we're actually nations and everything…"

Oh, was that it? "I was informed in the middle of the incident about it, so…"

"R-Really?" Canada blinked at him. "Who told you?"

"Um, well…" Soon, Syaoran realized that Canada wasn't the only one listening in – almost everyone was looking at him with curiosity, expectation, and suspicion all at the same time. The attention suddenly made the poor boy more conscious of himself. "You see, uh…"

Then, in a burst of energy, Mokona pointed at France, exclaiming, "He did it, officer! He's the perpetrator!"

"_H-Huh?_" France looked horrified at the accusation. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, mon ami. I didn't—"

But Kurogane wouldn't hear it. "So you can tell the kid about it, but not to the rest of us?"

"Non, non! You've gotten it all wrong! I wasn't the one who—"

"That's low," Norway deadpanned, "even for you, France."

"Not you too, Norvège!"

"Bloody hell, would you stop all that racket? This is _my house_, for Christ's sake!"

Syaoran and Canada exchanged looks as they, and everyone else in the room for that matter, stared at England as he sat up and ruffled his already messy hair. He was grumbling to himself until the Brit finally spotted France among the crowd. In his grumpy mood and with those thick eyebrows, that withered glare was sharp enough to pierce through metal. "And what in the world are _you_ doing in my room?"

"Oh, we were just going to make some tea for everyone!" Fai interjected, pushing both France and Kurogane out of the room with one hand and carrying the still snoozing Mokona in the other. Norway soon followed suit and made way for the door, but paused by the doorframe to ask, "What kind of tea would you like?"

"Chamomile would be lovely, thank you," England sighed as he squeezed the space between his eyes. Norway nodded and gently closed the door behind him, leaving Syaoran and Canada alone with a moody Brit.

Now on their own, Syaoran didn't know what to say, and the foul mood England was suddenly in didn't make things any better. Then, Canada tried with a lopsided smile, "So much for a good morning, eh?"

At that, the Brit heaved a heavy sigh. "It's been one of my _least pleasant_ mornings, I can assure you."

Syaoran tried a half-smile as well. "I'm sorry to hear that, England-san," he said before catching his words. But it was too late, and Canada widened his eyes as if in terror. The boy too realized his fault: they weren't supposed to let England-san know that they knew about their real identities. It completely slipped off his mind.

However, England merely looked at him and huffed. "So you know already, huh?"

But Syaoran still frowned at his own mistake. Bowing solemnly, he muttered, "I'm very sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, lad. Come now, lift your head up."

When he did, England's expression immediately changed into worry. "You're all covered in bandages," he observed before eyeing him with sharp green eyes. "What happened to you?"

"Y-You mean," Canada muttered on his side, "you don't remember?"

England turned to the Canadian and scowled deeply. "Don't tell me I went into another ludicrous drinking binge and actually—"

"N-no, it wasn't anything like that!" Canada interjected, shaking his head violently.

"You weren't the one who gave me these injuries, England-san." Syaoran believed that Britannia-san and Britain-san were all different from the England in front of him. "I just fell off a tree while putting back some chicks that fell off their nest," he lied in order to soothe the poor Brit somewhat.

The Canadian fidgeted in his chair as he asked, "So, what do you remember?"

"Well," England cradled his chin between his fingers, "the last thing that I recall is looking through a book that Norway brought with him one night." Syaoran and Canada cringed at the mention of the wretched book, but England didn't seem to notice and continued, "Is the book with Norway still?"

At that, the Canadian twitched. "N-No, it isn't…"

"Is that so?" The Brit sighed, looking disappointed. "I was hoping to read more into it. It contained some interesting information on a branch of magic that I haven't delved into yet…"

"But it was also releasing some sort of miasma, wasn't it?" Syaoran interjected almost adamantly. "I noticed its dark aura when Norway had it over the other night. I think it's better to put it where nobody can find it." In fact, he entrusted the now nullified book to Norway to find such a place.

England looked disheartened but sighed, "I suppose you're right, Syaoran." He paused to look at the grandfather clock for a moment before widening his eyes. "Say, what date is it today?"

Syaoran blinked, but replied, "It's July 4, Alfred-san's birthday—"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck!_"

The boy looked on with no small amount of worry as the Brit suddenly buried his face between his folded knees, groaning, "Oh God, I hate this day! _Damn it! Damn that idiot!_"

When he turned to Canada, the Canadian merely gave him a forced smile and a shrug. "He's always like this when it's this time of the year."

"Why's that?"

"It's because a certain _prat_ went on about becoming independent and now, he's celebrating his bloody victory over me!" England just about whined, briefly lifting his head up from his knees before covering his face again.

"Come on, England," Canada sighed as if they'd gone over it many times before. "You know he isn't celebrating because of that."

"Ha!" the Brit spat, though it was partly muffled due to the blanket. "You tell your brother that! That ungrateful little…"

Syaoran frowned, this time in confusion. "Canada-san?"

Canada looked up at the boy just as he began to pat the sulking Brit on the back to comfort him. "Oh right, we didn't get to tell you that Alfred's a nation too, did we?"

"He is?" Syaoran blinked.

"Yeah," the Canadian nodded. "His real name's the United States of America – America, for short. Are you familiar with the Revolutionary War?"

"You mean the American War of Independence!" England corrected/sniffed.

Syaoran looked at the Brit now letting out soft whimpers with furrowed brows. "No, I'm not familiar with it."

"Oh…" Canada looked at the ceiling in thought for a moment before turning back to Syaoran. "Then, let me put it this way: America and I used to be brothers of England, or charges as some of us nations call it. Things, well, happened in England's place and we all had a bit of a rough time. America took it really hard, until one day, he finally decided that enough was enough. America's people banded together to declare independence from England, and the rest, as they say, is history."

"…I think I'm starting to understand. But—"

"But you don't point muskets at one another just to prove a damn point!" England burst out, glaring with tear-filled eyes at the surprised Canadian. However, Syaoran merely frowned. Things were beginning to make sense now. Britain's close-minded actions. British Empire's powerful will against Britain and Britannia's plans. Arthur's near-desperate attempt to set things right. England-san's wish.

With a firm voice, the boy countered, "I don't know all of the details, but I think that it needed to be done to show Alfred—I mean, America-san's conviction of the matter."

"Do you mean his damned conviction to void his brotherhood with—?"

"I mean his determination to have a better future for the people of his country," Syaoran interrupted smoothly. England flinched – the boy had never been so impolite as to interrupt someone like that before – and Syaoran placed a comforting hand on the nation's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I realize this is a sensitive subject for you, but for your own sake, you need to get over all this regret and move on."

At first, England just stared at him. Then, he frowned and looked away. "That's easier said than done."

"I'm aware of that, but," Syaoran smiled and, copying Kurogane's antic, knocked gently on the Brit's head, "I think you know where to start, right?"

England's frowned merely deepened into his familiar scowl, and Syaoran thought that he was beginning to look like the old England again.

"Ohohohon~ Cher Angleterre has a soft side, after all!"

"Hmph! He should've hit him harder though."

"Mokona can't wait to hear what's going to happen next!"

Eh?

All of a sudden, the door was opened to let the group of eavesdroppers fall on top of themselves and form a pile with Kurogane being at the very bottom of them all. Besides Mokona who was at the top of the pile, Norway remained unharmed as he stood just outside the door holding the tray of steaming hot tea. He stepped over the squirming pile as he said, "The tea's ready."

Sandwiched between Fai and Kurogane, France whined, "That was very cruel of you, Norvège, opening the door like that while we were—"

"You were eavesdropping, weren't you?"

The Frenchman let out a sound between a yelp and a squeak as England went out of bed, and approached the pile with glinting green eyes and a smile far more wicked than even that of Britain. There was a mixture of shock, surprise, expectation and outright fear among the pile when the Brit cracked his knuckles. "I should teach all of you a lesson for your impertinence."

"Non, non, p-parley! _Parley_!"

As Syaoran watched France become under the mercy of a furious England, he sighed and thought that this was going to be a long morning.

* * *

**Special Note:**

Parley – a discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of a truce or other matters (taken from, of all things, the APH SMACKDOWN over on dA; go on, check it out xD)

* * *

**A/N:** We're almost at its end, folks!


	11. Onwards

**Afterword on Freedom**

* * *

"Oh. Mokona, your ribbon's a little loose. Here, let me fix it."

"Do you not want to wear a bowtie instead of that cravate, Fai?"

"No, it's fine, France-san."

"Ah! Kurogane, you can't bring your sword out in the open like that!"

"Canada's right, monsieur. It's no longer the norm to show off such dangerous weapons, and since we're in America, security's bound to be stricter about these things."

"Tch! I'll wear my sword if I want to!"

"Please, Kurogane-san. We don't know all of the customs of this world; we don't what will happen if we go against them in their own territory."

The ninja frowned, and Syaoran frowned back. Finally, the other heaved a sigh and quietly gave his _Ginryû _to Mokona. As Kurogane looked out into the car window and fumbled with his necktie ("Non, non, monsieur! You'll ruin it again!"), Canada gave Syaoran an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Syaoran. I wasn't sure what to do if Kurogane brought his sword with him to America's birthday party of all places."

Syaoran nodded at the smile. "I understand that, as nations, you require a high level of security around you."

"Oh no, no," Canada denied with a shake of his head. "That's not why the security is so uptight here in America. We don't get hurt as easily as humans do, you see, and are actually much stronger than the normal person too." Purple eyes darkened as he continued, "A few years back, America was hit by a big terrorist attack that killed many of his people and endangered hundreds more, possibly thousands. That's why America's not going to take any risks this time – he doesn't want to endanger any more lives because of him."

"…I see." When he first saw America-san through the other Syaoran, he thought he was just a highly energetic and charismatic person. Now that he heard more about his past, Syaoran realized that America-san was more than that.

When the chauffeured sedan pulled to a stop, France said in a low voice, "We've arrived. Is everyone ready?" They nodded from where they sat (with Mokona proclaiming, "Mokona's ready to _roll—!_"). The Frenchman nodded back, and slowly opened the door.

Wherever they looked, Syaoran and the others found another reason to awe. The building looked overwhelmingly huge from the outside. From the inside, the venue wasn't as overly big as they expected, but just spacious enough for all the guests to stay comfortable. The people were scattered all over the place, each looking so different from the other, talking among themselves in small groups. Most of them, though, lined themselves over at the long tables that served the food. Fai particularly eyed the bar just sitting pretty at a corner of the venue.

"America's really outdone himself this year," Canada sighed.

Beside him, France squeezed the Canadian's shoulder. "Come now, mon cher. You know your own birthday had more class."

"Oi, Frenchie! Over here!"

Everyone, including some of the other guests who looked displeased by the noise, turned towards the voice and found Gilbert waving at them with Antonio not too far behind. When they were close enough, the albino slapped the Frenchman on the back and stated, "Oi, France! Where've you been this whole time? I was stuck with West and that uptight aristocrat since Canada's birthday party 'cause of you, y'know!"

After a few rounds of coughing, France finally replied, "Ah, I apologize, mon ami. I visited Angleterre the night after Canada's party, you see, and, well… Things happened."

Syaoran and the others began to frown at the memory, but Gilbert suddenly gasped and, with a mad grin on his face, cried out, "_Holy—!_ No way! Seriously?" He laughed boisterously, his laughter attracting not so amused looks from the others guests. He wiped the tear from his eye as he jeered, "Man, I didn't think you'd – don't get me wrong, France; I know you've got the skills – but mein gott, _England?_ Ahahaha! This is just… _Oh mein gott_…"

Beside him, Antonio's eyes sparkled. "So give us the details, France. Come on, you can tell us."

When Gilbert got his breath back, he smirked, "Yeah, who's the… What did Japan call it again? Uke?" His smirk widened, his red eyes now mischievous. "Yeah, uke! Hey France, was it England? It was England, wasn't it? 'Cause you know you can't spell uke without UK, am I right?" he winked, elbowing the now speechless France on the side.

All the while, Syaoran just watched them fool around with a raised brow. It was becoming clear that Gilbert-san didn't understand France-san's choice of words at all, though he wondered why the Frenchman didn't correct them about it yet. A finger tapped his shoulder from behind and Canada whispered into his ear, "I think it's better to leave them alone for now. When these three get together, they—"

"Oi, what're you whispering on about over there, Canada?" Gilbert smirked at them before noticing the other people with the Canadian. The albino blinked at Syaoran. "Huh, weren't you that group of travelers with Eng—uh, I mean Arthur before?"

Fai smiled at him thinly. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Prussia-san?"

At that, their jeering stopped and Antonio blinked at the magician. "Oh. So you know about us? All of you?" he asked, looking at the rest of Syaoran's group. The boy showed a small smile and nodded. The green-eyed nation just smiled back. "Well, it makes things easier, doesn't it?" He showed his hand to Syaoran as he continued, "My name's Spain, by the way, though I know that I introduced myself to you before with a different name."

Syaoran shook Spain's hand firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you again, Spain-san," he said even though it was his first time meeting the nation in person.

The albino nation patted him on the shoulder to get his attention before proceeding to ruffling the boy's hair roughly. "And I'm the awesome Prussia, but you already know the awesome part, didn't you?"

When the Prussian finally stopped ruffling the boy's hair, Spain asked with a smile, "So are you here for America's birthday, too?"

"Yes," Syaoran nodded. "Actually, we came here in—"

"Hey~!"

As heads turned to the familiar lively voice, Prussia grinned, "Well, speaking of the birthday boy…"

They watched as America approached them in a bit of a jog with four other people trying to catch up to him. Syaoran and the others smiled at him in greeting while Mokona waved back at him, "Long time no see~!"

The American blinked at the white creature for a moment before pointing at it in recognition. "Mokona!" Then, he looked at the rest of the group around him, his blue eyes smiling. "You're all actually here! I didn't know you were even around town."

"We heard from France-san that today's your birthday," Fai began. Syaoran started but the magician just winked at him before continuing, "And I admit – you're having a grand party here, America-san."

Syaoran grimaced slightly, worried about how America would react to Fai calling him by his country name. However, the nation-celebrant just smiled back at Fai and said, "Thank you!"

Then, as if to answer the boy's silent question, Canada told him from behind, "He may be a powerful nation, but he's just hopeless at reading the atmosphere, so expect him to miss a few details here and there."

"I-I see…"

"_Fucking Spagna…_"

Syaoran turned in surprise to find a certain brown-haired man glaring at Spain. As he wondered how that stray curl managed to float like that, the Spaniard became ecstatic. "Lovi~!" he exclaimed before giving the other a tight hug. "You're here, too!"

"Let go of me, you bastard!" the one called Lovi shouted back in Spain's ear. But the Spaniard only hugged tighter, cooing at the other as if he were a stuffed bear.

Syaoran heard a set of feet approaching, and, when he turned, saw three people standing behind America. He was about to smile in greeting, but thought otherwise when he noticed the narrowed glance of the blonde-haired one. "I'm sorry," he asked, "but how did you find out about France and America?"

Before the boy could open his mouth, Fai cut in and remarked with a curled smile, "Oh, it's not just France-san and America-san~ We know all about your real identities as nations!"

At that, Syaoran began to fret. "Ah, F-Fai-san…" That was a little bit _too_ straightforward…

He noticed that the blonde-haired nation was staring down at them more than ever, but then Prussia suddenly pressed a beer mug (that Syaoran never saw him getting) to his brother's cheek, jeering, "Aw come on, West! You need to relax~ It's obvious that my awesomeness is just too awesome to stay secret for long!"

Then, the brown-haired nation approached Syaoran and held both of his shoulders, smiling, "Ciao, my name's Italy and he's Germany!" He pointed to the blonde-haired nation beside him, who just frowned but nodded in greeting. "What's yours~?"

Syaoran blinked. The nation looked very similar to the one called Lovi, except his stray curl was on the opposite side. He wondered how he could see anything with his eyes closed like that. Just as he realized that he was staring, Fai patted him on the head and said, "This young man's name here is Syaoran. I'm Fai, and the one with the scary face is Kuro-ron."

"It's Kurogane!" the ninja snapped. Italy immediately scurried over to Germany's side, clearly out of fear, while Fai merely laughed at the usual reaction.

Mokona jumped from Syaoran's arms to the Italian's head, declaring, "Don't forget about Mokona!"

Italy let out a surprised 've' sound at the creature on his head, but Germany flinched. "A-A talking rabbit?"

"Mokona isn't a rabbit!" Mokona returned. "Mokona's Mokona!"

The third person behind America gave Mokona a small smile, not showing the least bit of surprise. "I see. Mokona, is it?"

"That's right!" Mokona hopped over to the black-haired nation, who readily caught it with outstretched hands. "And what's your name?"

"Oh right, my name. Well, my human name is Honda, Kiku but my country name is Japan."

"_Eeeeehh—?_"

Syaoran blinked at Kurogane's shocked face, his mouth gaping. He pointed a trembling finger at the Japanese nation, muttering, "Y-You're… _You're…_"

"Oh~" Fai smiled. "If I remember right, didn't Kuro-tan say that he came from the country of Japan~?"

"_What!"_

"Really?"

"Ve~ Is that true, Kuro-ron?"

"My name is not Kuro-ron!"

"_Ve—!_ H-He's scary, Germania!"

"Just calm down, Italien."

"Your face is all red like a tomato, Lovi~!"

"_My face is not a fucking tomato, you damn bastard!"_

Syaoran chose to ignore the rousing chaos and stepped towards the nation-celebrant. "America-san," Syaoran called for his attention, and the American looked back at him with bright blue eyes. "I'm sorry for suddenly showing up without telling you beforehand."

"Nah, it's okay," America brushed it off with a smile. "I like surprises! I'm just wondering though," he continued, and there was a slight strain of apprehension in his voice, "how'd you get past the guards at the entrance? Weren't you asked for verification or something?"

"Ah!" Syaoran fumbled through his pocket before showing him a letter. "England-san wrote a letter of permission for us to come in his place." The Brit was still too weak (and even caught a flu) to travel, let alone attend America's party, but it was nice of him to have Syaoran and his group go instead.

He let America have a look at the letter, and Syaoran noted the forced smile on the American's face as he muttered, "So, that old man's not coming again this year, huh?"

Syaoran frowned at the hint of disappointment in the nation-celebrant's tone. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, what're you apologizing for?" America returned the letter to him with a smile, even though Syaoran knew it was no longer genuine. "If England's gonna act like some hermit, it's up to him."

"Even so—"

A strange blue glow suddenly emanated from behind, and everyone stared at Mokona's glowing earring. Mokona looked at its companions and said quietly, "It's time to go."

"What?" America whined. "But you guys just got here!"

"The beer-drinking contest hasn't even started yet!" Prussia added.

"Bruder…"

Fai smiled at them apologetically, as he and Kurogane began to walk away from the group. "Sorry, but we really have to go."

"Can't you at least stay for the fireworks?" the nation-celebrant tried, and Syaoran bit on the inside of his cheek when he saw the growing sadness in those blue eyes.

The boy steeled himself and patted America lightly by the arm, saying, "As much we'd like to, we can't stay any longer."

America opened his mouth to protest when Mokona suddenly hopped to his shoulder and hugged his face. "Happy birthday, America!"

The nation-celebrant paused for a moment, but a small genuine smile crept up his face as he patted Mokona gently. "Thanks, little buddy."

"Mokona!"

At the call, the white creature hopped to Syaoran's waiting hands. Urging himself not to look back, Syaoran followed Fai and Kurogane as they made their way out of the venue into the open grounds outside. The light that shone through the windows of the venue revealed that they were the only ones there, much to their convenience.

In Syaoran's arms, Mokona frowned. "America looked sad when we left."

"You don't need to worry about him. I'm sure he'll be fine once the fireworks start."

Heads jerked around, their eyes looking through the scant light, until they saw a certain figure smiling at them from under the shade of the lone oak tree. Syaoran blinked, gawking slightly. "Japan-san…?"

The Japanese nation smiled at them still and began to walk towards them. Syaoran held his breath as Japan paused in front of him. He watched with wide eyes when the nation patted Mokona gently, his fingers trailing over to the glowing earring. "So you really are leaving? To another world?"

Syaoran stared the nation. "How did you…?"

Japan merely shook his head and began to step back. "Then, I will not delay you on your departure."

Before he knew it, Mokona had already stretched its wings, and the magic circle glowed from underneath their feet. The familiar gusts and beams of light encircled them, as Syaoran watched Japan waving at them. "Please pass my regards to Watanuki-san."

At his words, Syaoran understood. With a small smile, he nodded, "I will."

The multicolored light wrapped around them and soon they disappeared into a ball of light, already on their way to their next destination.

From the grounds outside the birthday venue, Japan watched the fireworks that had begun to light the sky. "I wish you all a pleasant journey."

~oOo~

* * *

**Special notes:**

Cravate – necktie in French (according to English-French dictionary online)

Chauffeured sedan – If Syaoran knew what kind of car it was, it would be a Lincoln Town Car, c/o the generous America :)

Germania – Germany in Italian

Italien – Italy in German

Bruder – brother in German

* * *

**A/N: **It's finally over! And it only took me about a year too |D;; A big thank you for staying with me 'til the last chapter! For those who reviewed, you're all awesome! Mokona-hugs for everyone :"D

_Previous chapter's BGM_ _(sorry for the lateness!)_: Past Story [Fairytail OST]

_This chapter's BGM_: Keikai ~ Wolfram no Theme ~ [Kyou Kara Maou OST]


End file.
